Down Under The Rainbow
by Thoughtful Tikal
Summary: When the Sailor Scouts go on a vacation to Coolrangah, Southern Rivers, they're in store for so much more than they think. No one told them they would meet talking animals or a new enemy. Where will they find the vacation in that?
1. Chapter 1

**Edited: 10/4/14**

**Dennis's Thunder Egg Hunt! Soumei the Techno Queen! PART ONE**

Deep in the land of Southern Rivers, on its tropical paradise, Pippy Beach, Ty the Tasmanian Tiger was having a swell time. Sounds of the ocean waves tickled his ears as their waves moved to and fro. His lemonade had the perfect tangy sweetness to it. Ty was having an awesome vacation and hoped it would last, but there was still the matter of the asteroid outside of Southern Rivers to deal with.

Bush Rescue stood on the vast desert grounds outside their home and were facing a giant comet that Boss Cass had wanted to come crash into the Earth to end all life for mammals so that cold-blooded reptiles could finally rule and continue from where their dinosaur ancestors left off.

"So what's to be done about this asteroid, you guys?" asked Naomi, the Dingo in charge of Bush Rescue's Mobile Headquarters, "Obviously, we can't let it stay here."

"I've got an idea," said Sly the Tasmanian Tiger, who was twirling his Deadlyrangs around his furry fingers, "How about we smash it with my dad's Kaboomerangs and dump the mess into a suburb canyon?"

"Yes! Breaking this asteroid into pieces would allow us to acquire asteroid mining where we gather materials like iron, gold, titanium, and even platinum to use for resources. Coolrangah, in fact all of Southern Rivers, would have supplies to build more homes and a larger water supply," explained Julius, who was the brains of Bush Rescue.

"Right as rain!" Shazza the Dingo supported Julius's comment, "My little sister and I would have more Bunyip Mech upgrades for our shop if we had our hands on this asteroid's materials."

"Yeah, and same for my Rang upgrade shop!" Sly looked over to his brother with a small smile. "Hey Bro! Let's head to Dad and Mum's Rang Shop and borrow the Kaboomerangs."

"Alright!" Ty nodded and started walk back towards home with Sly but heard the Tasmanian Wolf, Ridge, speak up.

"I reckon' I could help you two blow up this asteroid."

"Grouse! It looks like you blokes got yourselves a plan here to get rid of this giant rock. Let's go and share the news with Dennis before we start any kabooming business," Maurie the Sulphur-Crested Cockatoo suggested to his team.

**(One hour later...)**

After having came to a safe landing from the airport, its passengers left the airlines and found themselves in a mountainous desert region. Of course what they would see was nothing but boulders, cactus, and plain red dirt. It was the season of summer and so the weather was humid, and quite sticky with different little insects flying about. Still, if this was all the vacation to Southern Rivers that there was, then the 16-year old, Serena Tsukino, wanted her money back.

"_This_ is Southern Rivers? It doesn't look anything at all like the photos from Ami's magazine! This desert's got nothing but dirt, and bugs keep touching me."

Serena waved her hand to swat yet another bug away from her.

"Serena, we're still on Southern Rivers's outside borders. Those pictures from Ami's magazine aren't even _half_ of what else it might have in store for us," one of Serena's friends, Rei Hino responded.

"Well, I hope Rainbow Cliffs has more to offer."

"I'm more interested in seeing Southern Rivers's wildlife," came Ami Mizuno's intellectual voice.

"Yeah, me too!" Mina Aino pulled a pink camera from out of her purse, "I wanna take shots of all the cute and furry animals."

"Well, it'd be nice to do some exploring and sightseeing." Serena's last friend, Lita Kino, turned to Ami and parted her lips again. "Ami, where's the town that we'll be staying at during this vacation?"

"If I remember correctly, Southern Rivers has towns and cities that were built centuries ago and still exist today. We can stay in Lake Burramudgee and see if they have any vacant rooms available for us."

"I wonder what kind of shops and resturants Lake Burramudgee has. Donuts and ice cream sundaes both sound really good right now," Serena's mouth started watering at the thought of these sweets.

"Where we eat will be figured out soon enough, Meat Ball Head," came Rei's teasing voice, "Before we stroll around town and get carried away, we need to figure out where we'll be lodging."

"I'm aware of that Rei!"

...

...

KABOOM!

All of a sudden, the girls fell silent as they heard a loud explosion come from the far distance in front of them. Each teenager looked and saw a huge cloud of dust with some serious explosion activity taking place.

"What's causing that?" Lita asked with a serious tone.

"Only one way to find out."

Rei was the first to take a step foward and jog towards the mysterious explosion with her comrades following her.

The whole area was a foggy gray thanks to the power of a Kaboomerang times three. Ty, Sly, and Ridge kept up their repetitive sequence of throwing their Kaboomerangs at this asteroid to break it down into tinier rocks and pebbles that would benefit Coolrangah like Julius mentioned; the rest of Bush Rescue stood by and watched so they could help clean up the mess once the Tasmanian Tigers were finished blowing it to bits.

"We're almost there, mates!"

Ty caught his Kaboomerang when it came back to him, then threw it once more. It was this last throw that would destroy the last bit of the asteroid and leave it in a small mountain of rubble. With a louder booming noise, all of the asteroid was finally destroyed and the excess smoke was leaving the area.

Elle gasped to her team mates' surprise as she spotted five shadowy figures emerge from behind the asteroid rubble's smoke. "Darl, do you see what I see?" the playtupus asked her boyfriend, Rex.

"Yeah..."

Rex took a defensive stance in front of Elle and looked to Ty to see what the the local hero would do. He and Sly also thought it wise to stay near Shazza and Naomi; for if these figures were Boss Cass's baddies then the Tasmanian Tigers would be ready to lash out their Rangs again.

A fearful Dennis stepped back to where Ken was, hoping that his scariness didn't show, but that part of his personality was already made known to the rest of the group, and even to those who didn't know him.

...

...

The smoke finally cleared, and rather than go into combat mode and kick some Frill Lizard tail, Bush Rescue remained stiff with shock. They didn't know how to react to what they saw in front of them.

"Uwah!"

Serena's eyes must've been playing tricks on her. What were these furry creatures?

"Are you blokes seeing what I'm seeing?" Maurie asked with total disbelief, "What we're seeing here is a couple of human shielas! I thought they only lived in the Western and Northern Hemisphere of the globe!"

"That couldn't be true, Maurie. From the looks of things, these five are just tourists coming down to Down Under for vacation," Julius assured the Cockatoo.

By thanks of her Mercury Computer, Ami was able to anaylze and conclude that these creatures were in fact animals but stood on their hind legs and acted like humans. In other words, they were what's called anthropomorphous. "Hello there! Um... obviously, none of us are familiar with each other's existences... I'll just start by saying, my friends and I noticed an explosion come from this spot, so we rushed over to see what the cause of it was, and so here we are."

A great silence fell over the atmosphere now. Ami felt it push down on her as she hadn't yet received a response from these animals. But then, as if awakened from some sort of trance, Ty gave a reply. "Oh! That explosion? Err... that was so we could have raw materials from this pile of rubble here. G'day, mates!"

Feeling even less uncomfortable, Ty walked up to Ami and put his hand out for a handshake. And from there, he introduced himself and each of his pals who also each came over and became acquaintances with Ami and each of her cohorts. From these desert lands outside Southern Rivers to the heart of Lake Burramudgee, jewel of Coolrangah District, both humans and animals exchanged words about their backgrounds and motives.

Serena and the girls met Lake Burramudgee's officer, Sergeant Bluey, who always had time to chat and mingle since Bush Rescue took care of all the dilemmas and emergency calls, and Ty's family: his father, Bri, his mother, Di, and big sister, Betty. There was also Lake Burramudgee's mayor, Dennis the Green Tree Frog, a flamboyant aristocrat who funds a variety of projects and has a huge, _huge_ obsession with shiny things called Thunder Eggs.

Lita had something to say in response to Ty when he narrated his last battle with Boss Cass the Cassowary. "It doesn't sound like there's anything to worry about then if Boss Cass is stuck on his island resort. Until he finds a way back, Southern Rivers is safe."

"Which means we get to have ourselves a little vacation, and from what you sheilas have told us, it sounds like youse' all want the same thing," Maurie said to Lita with his feathery hands on his round belly.

"Well, it's not going to be that easy I'm afraid," Dennis began with his usual sophisticated tone, "During the events of Boss Cass's last scheme, I discovered a new kind of Thunder Eggs that his meanie henchmen came to my house and stole from me."

"A new Thunder Egg?" Ty was instantly intrigued. "Ripper!"

"And anyway, this task of getting back my precious Thunder Eggs was one that I was going to assign Bush Rescue. Those lizards' plane ran out of fuel and my Thunder Eggs are scattered all over the Billabongs. Please, Bush Rescue! Hurry, those lizard breaths have probably found them all by now. "

"Would ya' quit your whinging, Dennis?" Maurie retorted, "We'll find Cass's henchmen and get your Thunder Eggs back."

"Yeah, no worries." Ty turned his sights to Shazza. "Have you still got your Fourbie up and running, Shaz?"

"No, sorry, Possum. We'll have to ask Duke if he can drop us off. Don't worry, girls. We'll try to find these Thunder Eggs fast and come back to give you a tour around Lake Burramudgee."

Shazza started jogging away with the other Bush Rescuers as she gave assurance to Serena and her group.

Just along the borders outside Lake Burramudgee, a black sphere of energy appeared and started hovering around as if it was a pencil being used to draw outlines of a building. Judging by the pair of double doors it drew, this building started looking like a store... no, a mansion. Or maybe... maybe what this building was would remain a mystery.

It was hard to guess the final outcome, but soon the black sphere etched its final details and its masterpiece came to life. It wasn't a store or a mansion, but a marvelous, dazzling showcase theater.

If one were to enter this establishment they would hear a pianist making beautiful classical music... drums being played by a professional drummer... mysterious but lovely voices of a young woman and her chirping birds. And, even further inside this theater, past the descending staircase on a humongous stage, there was a rapper letting his radio play its funky beats. His ghostly but supportive audience clapped and applauded for him once the instrumental song was over.

"That's what's up! These beats I'm playin' are what's got the crowd pumped up!"

"Sorry, Rappu. _Teenage pop _songs are what everyone wants to hear nowadays. Isn't that right, Rokku and Ro-ru?" a girl named Juudai said with an arrogant tone.

"You're both wrong. Drums, guitars, and a rockin' attitude is what makes the crowd go wild," Rokku argued, hearing his brother Ro-ru agree by playing a quick beat on his drums.

A classy female named Namida scoffed at this statement she'd heard from Rokku and joined in on the debate. "All of you are wrong! Opera music is what brings out the beauty in a song. True music, I say."

"Pfft! Get real, nina!" said another female named Bara, who unlike any of these other characters, favored Salsa dance music, "This isn't the 1800's anymore! What people want now is something exciting and spicy!"

"Bara, I'm not so sure if everyone likes that kind a' thing either," interjected Seihou, the country music lover.

"Hey! Nobody invited _you_ to this conversation, nina! Why don't you go on and sing about what your country music usually talks about?"

"Seihou, are you saying country music is better than the rest?" a half-mad Juudai asked.

"_Maybe_ I am, pardner! What's it to you and any of these other folks here?"

"Hmph!"

Instead of sticking around and arguing, Juudai walked off the stage without realizing that some of her friends followed her. It was when Seihou felt embarrassed for being left alone that she scurried after the others and the stage curtains were drawn open... to reveal a masked man who had beautiful blonde hair and wore a royal blue suit.

"Thank you, everyone," this masked man thanked his deceased fans, "You're always such the perfect crowd." He took off his mask to show a set of eyes that were handsome enough to make almost any woman in the world give him their attention. He raised his hand to reveal a musical baton and waved it around to call forth his best musicians yet. Not anyone like those Meloses who were on this stage childishly arguing about whose music genre was the best. "Lost Chords! Present yourselves!"

An endless trail of sheet music came into existence and lingered downstage between the stage and theater seats until three different notes glowed and jumped off of it. They came alive and transformed into two males and one female who each had their own personality and physical features.

"The Lost Chords are at your service, Maestro Virtuoso," came the first male's humble voice. Being a calm and collected pianist, and the oldest brother, this young man's name was Ei-to. He was born with red hair and wore a collared suit with a tie that was covered by a t-shirt.

"Excellent. I need you three to begin the search for the Silver Essence Aura. Remember how I promised the each of you all your hopes and dreams in this theater? Well, without the Silver Essence Aura, none of you will be able to have that. Can I trust you three to find this special gift for me, without any failure at all?"

"Yes," confirmed Ei-to's younger brother, Ei-he. Unlike Ei-to, Ei-he's hair had rebellious yellow spikes and his eyes came in a mistrusting shade of green. He wore a white coat and played strange sounds on his little flute. "We'll find this Silver Essence Orb in no time."

"It's called the Silver Essence _Aura_, Ei-he!" barked Ei-he and Ei-to's sister, Ei-ni, "We'll never find any Essence Auras with you always forgetting what Maestro Virtuoso says."

This Lost Chord's hair was much darker than Ei-to's with a cutesy music note barrette clipped on. In terms of clothes, Ei-ni wore a fluffy white dress with sparkles decorating her vest. If a microphone was considered an instrument, then that was what this Lost Chord played.

"Get off my case, Ei-ni! You're not the one who's in charge here!"

"You can count on us, Maestro Virtuoso," Ei-to answered while ignoring his younger siblings' feud.

Minutes later, the Lost Chords found themselves backstage where Ei-he was standing in front of a giant wheel that resembled the wheels one could play a game on to win prize tickets, but this wheel had the faces of different people on each tab and there weren't any tickets.

"We have to spin a wheel? This is absurd!" Ei-he complained.

"Maybe Maestro Virtuoso has good reasons for putting this wheel here," Ei-ni tried sounding reasonable, "It's all we've got so quit your yapping and make it spin already."

"Well, I certainly think it's neat," commented Ei-to, taking a closer look at the wheel's color and fancy designs.

"Alright, fine." Ei-he held back his sigh and pulled the wheel's lever down to make it start rotating. His and his siblings' eyes were practically glued to this device until it slowed down and its arrow pointed to the face of a cute blonde-haired girl with a red hair bow. "You know, maybe this spinning the wheel concept isn't so bad."

"Just because it told you your first target is a _girl_? That's probably not her natural hair color," Ei-ni folded her arms.

"Well, in any case, Ei-he needs to decide which Melos he's going to send out on this first mission," Ei-to interjected.

"No problem, Ei-to," Ei-he assured.

* * *

><p>"I would ruffle my feathers on account of not getting to have a break, but this new Thunder Egg business sounds as rare as hen's teeth!" Maurie flew out of Duke's plane while his comrades all jumped out and landed on their feet.<p>

The Billabongs looked just as Ty remembered them from his very first adventure here some years ago. It always had pretty water lilies and blue gum trees, and one would have to watch out for the Barracudas who waited for unguarded travelers to walk through so they could bite their ankles.

"Let's have a go with this little egg hunt, shall we, blokes?" Maurie asked everyone.

"Yeah!"

With his teeth clenched, Ty entered these Billabongs with the rest of Bush Rescue behind him. And just as Dennis said, his special Thunder Eggs were scattered all over its grasses and dirt grounds.

"Ty!"

When this adventure was just about to get started, Ty heard someone call his name and he turned around to see a bunch of familiar faces."Mates?"

Maurie perched down on the wooden sign beside Ty and was surprised at who they saw too. "Shielas? What're you all doing here down in the Billabongs?"

"Dennis said you would need help finding his Thunder Eggs, so we asked if we could help," Serena gave their explanation.

"Uhhh..." Ty found himself scratching his head with his Boomerang sheepishly as this scene was too out of the blue for him. "Right... okay, you five come and help us find these Thunder Eggs then." It would take the marsupial some time to get used to having his newest human mates tag along on Bush Rescue missions like this.

After revealing his small orange jug, Maurie took a chug from it then put his sights back on Bush Rescue's five newest volunteers. "Now we trust that you sheilas know a thing or two about adventuring before tagging along like this. It's certainly not a walk in the park. Ty's been at this for just about his whole life."

In the beginning of Dennis's Thunder Egg Hunt, Bush Rescue found just a couple of Thunder Eggs, and that's when they started running into the Frill Lizards and Blue Tongues.

Forever clenching his teeth, Ty twirled his boomerangs around his fingers then continued through this sort of level with Shazza by his side. Together, they came to a lake and noticed Boss Cass's henchmen already gathering Thunder Eggs that fell out from their plane.

"Stop where you are!"

Different Frill Lizards stopped what they were doing and turned to see Ty glaring at them with those threatening green eyes. They set their findings down and started running towards the hero to try and punch him, but he easily dispatched them with Shazza's help.

Dennis had sent Bush Rescue and the girls all with spacious backpacks to stash these mystery Thunder Eggs inside of them. Serena grew awfully curious as she spotted her first one stuck within the branches of a gum tree. It's center wasn't a gleaming blue, red, or even green like Julius said the other types of Thunder Eggs contained. Instead, this new color she saw appeared to be yellow... no, _gold_. Serena couldn't tell for sure with the all thick leaves that were in the way.

After pounding a pair of Frill Lizards together and throwing them aside, Ranger Ken found that odango-haired girl trying to climb up that gum tree. "Need some help there?"

"Huh?" A mildly frustrated Serena looked down and noticed the husky Ranger Ken smiling up at her. Thank goodness someone was here to assist her! "Yeah, I'd appreciate it! Thank you." The relieved Serena started climbing back down the gum tree but lost her footing and was caught in Ranger Ken's arms.

"Be careful there, sheila."

Ranger Ken set Serena down then wrapped his giant hands around the gum tree and started shaking it until the Thunder Egg fell out and landed beside her feet.

Feeling accomplished, Serena knelt down to grab this golden treasure but yelped as she felt a little shock run through her body when she touched it. "Ouch!"

That was when Shazza, Ty, and Maurie turned around and rushed over to the girl to see what went wrong.

"Everything alright, mate?" Ty asked with a concerned tone.

"Yeah, but this Thunder Egg just shocked me! Dennis never mentioned anything about these eggs doing that."

Maurie inspected Serena's finding with his beady black eyes and moved back and parted his beak to share his thoughts. "I know what kind of Thunder Egg this is."

"What kind is it, Maurie?" Shazza asked.

"It's one that I don't know about and so we'll have to let Julius have a look at it. I never heard anything about Thunder Eggs shocking people. You'll have to let Julius know about that, sheila."

In another part of the Billabongs, Sly glided towards another platform with his Deadlyrangs and found himself five of these new Thunder Eggs. He put them in his backpack then glided elsewhere.

"So Dennis really is the only one who knew about these gold Thunder Eggs?" Lita asked Mina and Ami as they circled around a mountain by following its dirt trail.

"Yes, so Maurie's going to give one to Julius so he can do research on it in his lab." Ami could've said more but she spotted a Frill Lizard trying to make off with six of Dennis's Thunder Eggs. "Guys, that lizard's found six Thunder Eggs! Let's hurry after them!"

As Ami and the others ran up to this minion, he noticed their arrivals so he set his treasures down and put his scaly dukes up.

Maurie saw what Ami, Mina, and Lita were up to and decided to give them a helping hand. "Wanna know how to triple team this baddie here, sheilas? Well it's easy. They approach you very slow-like to throw a sucker-punch, and that's when you have the advantage to give the blow."

Maurie watched Boss Cass's henchman choose Lita and took his sweet time approaching her, only to be receive an uppercut in the jaw and lose miserably. His comrades saw his demise and stopped gathering gold Thunder Eggs to put an end to Lita's heroic efforts.

"Uwah! How many of these lizards are there?" asked an outnumbered Serena.

This girl had to leap and dodge different Blue Tongues' hits so she wouldn't be attacked, but fortunately Rei and Lita came to the rescue and beat the lizards down with their martial arts tactics.

"If I didn't see that technique there just now, then I don't think I'd believe it." Maurie watched all of Serena's enemies collapse to the ground around her. "You sheilas have what it takes to join in on the adventure after all!"

...

...

"Everyone!"

Ty regrouped with his friends near a pond with lily pads and asked how many gold Thunder Eggs they'd found so far.

"Fifteen!" Ami counted.

"Fifty-two!" answered Ranger Ken.

"One-hundred and twelve," Sly said.

"Excellent! Let's say we pick up the pace," Maurie concluded this discussion and flew alongside Ty when the Bush Rescue leader took off.

...

...

"Phew!" A weary Shazza wiped her brow and looked over at Ty to find that he just as tired as she was. "Finding these Thunder Eggs was no easy task to accomplish, huh Possum?"

"I'll say." Ridge scanned his surroundings with his good eye and assumed that everyone found all of Dennis's Thunder Eggs. "These new Thunder Eggs had better be worth the adventure, Tiger," Ridge told Ty.

While Ty believed that these new Thunder Eggs were the real deal, he was worried about its capabilities since one of them harmed Serena earlier. "Let's get back to headquarters so we can give Dennis these volcanic beauties."


	2. Chapter 2

**Edited 10/4/14**

**Dennis's Thunder Egg Hunt! Soumei the Techno Queen! PART TWO**

And so, Bush Rescue and friends delivered Dennis his Thunder Eggs. When they could've been thanked for their efforts, they instead watched the Green Tree Frog clutch his Thunder Eggs as if they were his babies. Dennis was well respected since he had been a three-star general for Southern Rivers during the Quinkan Invasion some years back, and now he was the Lake Burramudgee mayor, but also very stingy.

A blond-haired Dingo who was about 30 years older than Shazza and wore a stylish green dress was in her living room dusting off a vase while humming a sweet tune. As she was about to start dusting off her table, she heard the doorbell ring and went to go answer it. "Oh! Hello, Ty!"

"G'day, Maureen!"

"Ty, Pumpkin, how are you? Shazza's always talking about you. I think my girl really likes you."

"Mum!" Shazza's cheeks glowed with pink.

Behind Ty and her daughter, Maureen noticed a group of humans and was told that they were tourists who flew all the way from Azabu-Juuban, Tokyo to come vacation here in Lake Burramudgee. She became curious and told Serena she hoped that she and her friends enjoyed their stay here, then this mother heard her daughter ask if they could perhaps stay there in their house. "Sure, the five of you can stay in my home. You girls must come by and see the remodeling that's been done to Lake Burramudgee High School sometime. I help organize their parent-teacher meetings and also help run their school's library when I have time."

Sometime after the girls were introduced to Shazza and Naomi's mother and got a tour of all the rooms in her house, they stayed and lounged in the living room while Bush Rescue was away to answer a call that Maurie received through the Bush Rescue Radio. Apparently, there was a special pearl down in Crikey's Cove that needed to be recovered and placed back in a museum, so the museum's owner contacted Bush Rescue Headquarters and addressed the issue right away.

Mina sighed and laid her back on Maureen's carpet in front of the coffee table. "What if this vacation gets boring?"

Her friends were astonished by this comment and turned towards Mina in wonder of why she said it. Why would she say something like this?

With all eyes on the blonde and awkwardness making her day even duller, Mina got up from the floor and tried lightening the mood. "I think I need to go for a walk and that'll cheer me up."

Then, just like that, she went over to the front door and left the Dingo Residence with the sounds of the closing door worrying her friends even more.

"What was _that_ about?" began Serena.

"It seems as if Mina's became too anxious about this vacation and now that she's seen Lake Burramudgee, she's realizing she had her hopes too high," Ami guessed.

"I like this place," stated Lita, "Sure, it's not like back in Tokyo but isn't that why it's called a vacation? What does Mina see wrong with it?"

"Since we've all graduated from high school, I was excited about this vacation because it'll be nothing but studying and college entrance exams when I do get back home," Ami continued.

"And I'll be looking for a job to help invest in my flower and sweets shop," Lita went on to say.

"I'll keep helping Chad and my grandpa with our shrine until I become the head priest someday," came Rei with her decided career.

"Meanwhile, I'll be planning my big wedding with Darien!" Serena announced with a sweet excitement in her tone.

"That's all she's ever been talking about since we finished high school. Let's sit over here, you guys."

"Hey, why'd you all get up and move away from me?" Serena asked with a hurt tone.

"I do have to admit that sometimes I imagine myself as a bride in a wedding dress, walking down that aisle with my father and being given to my husband-to-be. But the best thing I can do for now is focus on my studies, and continue protecting the Moon Princess," Ami thought out loud with Rei and Lita admiring her.

"I don't know what type of man I'll end up marrying. There have been too many who all remind me of my old boyfriend and I'm not sure if I can keep going into the dating scene," Lita crossed her arms as she thought back to all those young men she'd met in between the Sailor Moon Seasons.

"Well, the both of you and Mina know what my motto is. You shouldn't rely on them, but if they're good-looking, then maybe a little. I can't see myself marrying anyone right now or even five years from now, and that's fine. My responsibilities are taking care of my grandpa and being Sailor Mars."

Serena found herself touched by all these words and wishing that somehow, some way she could be more ambitious and independent like her friends. They all seemed to have dreamed of having their own marriages someday in the far future but they never made it a priority.

* * *

><p>Mina walked down Maureen's porch steps then turned right and started down the sidewalk. Usually her cat, Artemis, was with her when they had to go somewhere, but that was so long ago. Now she was by herself in a world where she felt out of place and the need for Sailor Scouts was absent. Her idea of a vacation was going to the mall and spotting celebrities. Nothing like that was down here in Lake Burramudgee. So was this selfishness that the high school graduate was feeling in her heart?<p>

"Hi!"

Mina looked up at the sound of this friendly voice and saw Betty waving at her from her parent's front porch. "Hi, Betty! What's up?"

"Not much. I'm just on my way back to my park."

"You have a park?"

"Yeah, it's called Fair Dinkum Theme Park."

"What? So you don't help your brothers with Bush Rescue?"

"No... you could say I didn't get the hero genes from our mum and dad like they did. I rescue animals while I'm away from my park and have the time. Maybe you and your friends could come down and visit. I still have a few discount tickets to give away."

"Sure, okay!"

Mina flashed a cheerful smile to Betty as they exchanged their farewells. The idea of Ty and Sly's sister running her own tourist park sounded exciting! Maybe Mina would get satisfaction she wanted out of this vacation after all, and her friends would love to hear this great news for themselves.

She turned on her heel and went back in the direction of Maureen's house, not noticing a suspicious figure some ways in front of her who snickered and planted a strange object down on the pavement.

Jogging with a new excitement in her heart, Mina felt herself trip over something and fell to the ground face-first. "Grrr! What was that?" Soon the teenager lost her irritation as she realized what made her fall and Dennis was the first person to come to her mind. "A _Thunder Egg_? What's this doing out here? Maybe I should take it to Ty."

Mina reached forward and touched the Thunder Egg, only to make it explode like a timed bomb. This accidental or purposeful explosion left her face a dirty charcoal black and it also dirtied her clothes. So a now furious Mina looked through the grayish smoke she was in and found a male silhouette standing beyond her as if they were responsible for this fake Thunder Egg, though her suspicions vanished when she saw that this person was a handsome young man. "Wow, he's such a hunk!"

"Hey, you're not so pretty from before!" Ei-he ruined Mina's dazed smile with this terrible joke.

"What did you just say?" Veins showed up on Mina's forehead and her clenched fists. Suddenly this guy wasn't cute anymore. "You big jerk! I'll bet you're a heart breaker!"

"What was that?" Ei-he felt his anger come to a steamy boil. Mina never answered back so he revealed a flute and started playing on it to make a musical sheet appear and trap her. No matter how much she struggled, its bond around her arms and waist was both too tight.

"You girls all think you have us guys figured out. How wrong you all are!"

Ei-he snapped his finger and caused Mina to suffer what could best be described as an out-of-body experience. Who and what she was hovered over her now useless and colorless body as glowing yellow aura. Mina was this aura.

Ei-he examined it and didn't look pleased by its appearance. "Grr! On top of that, this isn't the right Essence Aura!"

"Hold it right there!"

The Lost Chord looked past Mina's body and saw four more girls standing courageous and bold in white uniforms. "Hmph. I take it you four are this town's crime fighters, and now you're here to try and stop me. Does that about sum it up?"

"Stripping someone of who they are shouldn't be allowed in any country! Everyone is their own person and no one can change that! I'm Sailor Moon!"

"And we are the Sailor Scouts!"

Eternal Sailor Moon did her heroic hand signs then went on to proclaim, "In the name of the Moon, I will punish you!"

"Just as I thought. Well, I'd love to stick around and chat, but I have someone else I want you to meet. Soumei the Techno Queen! Come out and play your music for these girls!"

As the Sailor Scouts expected, a villain came from a portal on the ground with readiness to fight them. They were a blue-skinned woman with sleek purple hair and a band covering their eyes. In their hands they held bright neon sticks. Whenever Soumei opened her mouth to speak, parts of a techno song would play.

"Huh?" Jupiter hadn't expected this.

An also perplexed Mercury felt the need to bring out her Mercury Visor and analyze this Melos. "This enemy's voice gives off recorded sound waves instead of regular human speech. So her weak point is her neck."

Mercury moved out of harm's way along with her team mates as Soumei swung her glowing sticks at them. ("All of you will like this song I play.")

"JUPITER, OAK, EVOLUTION!"

Fortunately for Soumei, the Melos ran past Jupiter's attack and knocked her back some feet into a blue mailbox.

"Jupiter!" cried out Eternal Sailor Moon. This heroine tried rushing over to her unconscious friend's side, but was almost hit by Soumei too. "Ah!"

"MARS, FLAME, SNIPER!"

Mars let go of her bow and watched her arrow pierce their opponent's neck.

Those same techno beats came from her mouth again as she yelled out in pain. They'd figured out her weak spot and now she was defeated.

"Now, Mercury!" Mars said to her ally.

Mercury nodded and quickly did her part. "MERCURY, AQUA, RHAPSODY!"

This is what ended it.

("EXIT STAGE LEFT!")

With Mercury's water attack giving the final blow, Soumei reverted back into a CD that fell to the ground and shattered to pieces, and that was the end of the battle. Mina's Essence Aura was returned to her body and she regained her color and purpose.

"Mina? Mina? You guys, she isn't waking up!" Eternal Sailor Moon panicked.

The other Sailor Scouts hurried over to Mina and confirmed that she was still alive because she was breathing. Jupiter could only figure that maybe they should let Mina rest, but the green soldier saw Eternal Sailor Moon raise her Eternal Tiare.

Eternal Sailor Moon winced in pain... the same pain she'd felt earlier when she put her hands on that Thunder Egg.

"Sailor Moon!" Mars gasped as she, Jupiter, and Mercury all saw their leader's brooch flash repeatedly from its gold color to a gleaming silver, until finally it stayed as the new silver brooch that became known as the Cosmos Moon Article.

"COSMOS, MOON, POWER!"

Eternal Sailor Moon's Cosmos Moon Article opened like a locket and released gold light that enveloped the whole area. For some time, no one could see what was happening, but then... as the brightness went away... they could see what happened to Eternal Sailor Moon. Her hair and uniform were now silver. Beautiful angel wings still adorned her back, but a longer winged staff rested between her fingers. Soldier of Light and Hope, this was Sailor Cosmos.

None of the other Sailor Scouts could say anything when they were too amazed and speechless at this transformation. Their leader had changed before their very eyes and the needed explanation for why it took place was the hugest mystery.

Cosmos raised her new staff known as the Cosmos Wand above her head and started twirling it. The world around her disappeared and she was in a black dimension with twinkling stars, where it was just her and this still unconscious Mina. Once the Cosmos Wand reached its fullest power, Cosmos twirled it counter-clockwise and started her technique. "SILVER... MOONLIGHT... REMEDY... TOUCH!"

Her spin slowed down to a graceful stop as she came back down from the starry heavens and gently touched Mina with the tip of her wand. The same ripples that one sees inside water moved out from underneath Mina's body as if she were the cascade poured into a pond. Her eyes started opening and she regained her senses. For the strangest reason though, there was someone smiling down at her who looked all too much like Sailor Moon. They said her name and held their hand out for her to take it and stand back up, and that was when Mina realized...

"Sailor Moon... why do you look different?"

"I don't know... it could have something to do with that gold Thunder Egg I touched earlier."

"The Thunder Egg?" came Mars's voice, "Are you saying that it caused this new transformation of yours?"

"Maybe visiting Julius's lab and seeing what he's learned about Dennis's Thunder Eggs could help us solve this matter," Mercury laid out this idea.

* * *

><p>A loud and disordered noise came from the piano backstage as Ei-he slammed his hands down on it. The angry musician then stormed into Ei-ni's dressing room to find her sitting in front of her mirror, brushing her hair.<p>

"You didn't find the right Essence Aura?" Ei-ni asked with a casual tone.

"What do you think?" Ei-he thought back to that comment Mina made about him being a heart breaker. "And I don't go around breaking hearts! Girls just can't seem to keep up with me is all. Huh?" The Lost Chord was interrupted because he heard pure giggles coming from his sister's mouth.

"I don't know what you're yapping about, but if I were you, I would be figuring out what target to look for next instead of having a temper tantrum."

"Like I need you to tell me that! Anyways, I don't see why you're so calm about this," Ei-he crossed his arms and looked at Ei-ni's reflection in her mirror.

"It's simple. It won't be long before it's my turn to start searching for the Silver Essence Aura."

"Yeah, and?"

"There's a trick I have up my sleeve, and I haven't even shared it with Ei-to yet."

"Why not?"

"If I didn't tell him yet, what makes you think I'll tell _you_?" Ei-ni made a cute frown.

Ei-he groaned at this rude remark and stomped back out of the room to go elsewhere. Him and Ei-ni never got along, but Ei-to was much calmer and laid-back, so Ei-he would see what the older Lost Chord was up to.

Unlike Ei-he, Ei-to actually knew how to play the piano, and right now he was playing a wonderfully crafted piece by Tchiavosky titled, "Waltz of the Flowers". Ei-he recognized it right away and went over to his siblings side to watch how he pressed the keys to bring this song to life.

"You and Ei-ni aren't getting along again?" Ei-to asked as his melody went on.

"Pfft. You know the answer to that already. She thinks she's got this Silver Essence Aura business all figured out. Who do you think Maestro Virtuoso's wheel is going to land on next when I spin it?"

"There's only one way to find that out, Ei-he."

Ei-to put his sights back on the instrument in front of him and so his brother went past him and towards the wheel to give it a spin. Ei-he watched it rotate as Ei-to's music kept playing. Over... and over... and over.

* * *

><p>"G'day, girls! You've all come so you can hear the observations I've made on these mysterious Thunder Eggs, correct?"<p>

"Yes," Ami answered Julius, "What were you able to learn about them?"

"Well..." Julius cleared his throat, "All of the Thunder Eggs we've seen already have the elements of fire, ice, and thunder. From what I've found in this Thunder Egg, it has some of the same properties that we can find in the Sun or the stars."

"Then just what kind of Thunder Egg is it?" asked Maurie.

"This is the_ Light_ Thunder Egg."

"The _Light_ Thunder Egg..." Ty repeated this term to himself and looked over to Serena, wondering if she really were okay after this item shocked her earlier.

"As to why this Light Thunder Egg shocked Serena is a problem I'm still researching and looking into. I will let all of you know when I come up with the answer."

Julius bid each of his friends farewell when they left his laboratory and went in their own directions to carry out the rest of the day.

During all the time that Serena and her friends were being given their tour around Lake Burramudgee, she felt uneasy. She didn't know why the Light Thunder Egg decided to shock her, but she was living proof of its effects. Or was her newest transformation was unrelated to that and she just felt that same jolt because the pain never vanished. Which explanation was it?


	3. Chapter 3

**Edited: 10/4/14**

**Serena's Gift to the Lovely Couple! Seihou the Lone Star! Part ONE**

The next day, now that the girls saw all of Lake Burramudgee, they decided to split up and see if there were areas that they liked individually. Of course Serena was delighted to have found a koala selling sweets in their shop some minutes away from the Bush Rescue Headquarters, but then there was a place across the street that had plushies and other trinkets propped in their display cases in front of their windows for all eyes to land on.

"Wow! This place looks a lot bigger than it does from outside. Hm?" After having looked around at all the unique and interesting objects this nice gift shop had to offer, Serena noticed a container of plushies to her left that sort of looked like the ones she saw at the front of the store. "Oh! More plushies! Awww... they all look so cute. I don't know which one to take home with me."

She dug deeper into the pile of stuffed animals until her eyes widened immensely at the next pair she saw. "Huh?" Either her eyes were playing tricks on her, or the teenager really found gifts that looked like the couple, Ty and Shazza. Had someone really taken the time to sew these dolls into Bush Rescue's leader and his companion? "These plushies look just like Ty and Shazza. Maybe I should buy both as a gift and give it to them."

And so, Serena reached into her purse, checked how many Opals were left, and purchased her chosen items at the cash register. Of course she or her other friends weren't familiar with these Opals that Southern Rivers used for money, so Ty's parents lent them some of their earnings from their Rang Shop.

Serena made her way over to the Bush Rescue Headquarters soon after, but when she visited their cafeteria its cook named Sneath the Frill Lizard told her that Ty and Shazza hadn't came in to work today as there weren't any calls.

* * *

><p>"G'day, Dad," Ty waved at Bri as he approached the father's house Rang Shop.<p>

"G'day, Son. Thanks for stopping by my shop to meet with me. We never get to talk much with you always leading your emergency force and me helping your mum run this little shop of ours."

"No worries. There's been nothing for Bush Rescue to take care of but deliveries and rescues, so we have time to sit and talk now. Dad, what was it that you wanted to talk to me about?"

"Well, Son... ever since you saved me, your mum, and your sister from the Dreaming seven years ago, there's something I've been meaning to ask."

"Sure, ask away." Ty always trusted his dad. Though he had to admit he became dumbfounded after hearing the question Bri desired an explanation to for however many years. Why didn't Ty ever consider mentioning it sooner? "Shaz? We met a few years before the Bunyip Elder told me Boss Cass sent you, Mum, and Betty to the Dreaming. She was riding in her Fourbie and I happened to be on my way to Burramudgee to get me first set of boomerangs."

"Oh, I see. So she offered you a ride to the rang shop and that's when you two started hitting it off."

"No." Ty thought back to those wonderful years where he first interacted with this Dingo who he loved so much today. "I was still on my way when her Fourbie ran out of gas and she said she knew about a gas station that was back in the direction she came from. I told her about Burramudgee being closer to us, so I led her to town and helped refuel the Fourbie."

"Then that's when she thanked you for helping with her car and you two became friends?"

"No, Dad." Ty found himself excited about clarifying his first meeting with Shazza. So he went for it...

_Before Ty's very first adventure, he'd been adopted by a family of Bilbies, so he was raised in the Billabongs with the Bilby children and talked how they talked and ate what they ate. When he turned 13, that's when he became adventurous and would travel outside their home to explore and play with his adoptive brothers. Whether it be a game of tag or hide-and-go-seek, Ty was ready for action, but when he met Shazza, all of that changed._

_"Hey, Ty! Why don't you play hide-and-go-seek with us anymore?" asked one of the Bilby kids._

_"Because he's got a GIRL-FRIEND!" laughed another, "And he's always going out to the Desert to wait and see if she'll show up in her FOUR-BIE."_

_"Now you wait just a minute there, mate," Ty replied in his higher-pitched voice, "I'm not dating Shaz." _

_Ty couldn't have helped it if something different and unlike the world he was raised in caught his eye. This 10-year old Shazza wasn't like anyone he knew down in the Billabongs. Her attitude, her personality, the way she talked, the way she carried herself... this Dingo was unique..._

_She was out in the Desert again, except this time, she wasn't in her Fourbie; the little auto mechanic opened its hood to inspect and see if any of its parts needed any tinkering, and that's when he showed up._

_"G'day, Shaz!"_

_"G'day, Ty! I'm just here checking the Fourbie's engine to see if it needs any extra modifications."_

_Having owned his Boomerangs for some time now, a young Ty brought them out and stepped up to the Fourbie's hood. "I know how to see if anything needs more fixing." Til' this day, Ty wasn't a mechanic expert, so he really didn't have any business messing with this vehicle 10 years ago._

_Unsure of which car part he whacked with his Boomerangs, black, inky gasoline squirted out and colored his little face until it was like the dark fur on a full-fledged Tasmanian Devil. Shazza was shocked and wanted to say sorry and add that she would find a way to get that mess on his face cleaned up, but it looked hilarious. The Dingo broke into laughter and when Ty could've gotten upset and said she was mean for reacting like this, he laughed too; it really had been silly how he believed beating the Fourbie with his Rangs was the answer when Shazza was mechanically gifted and could resolve the problem easily._

_"Well... guess me Boomerangs won't help check your Fourbie, Shaz."_

_"That's okay, Ty. It's the thought that counts."_

_And so, after Shazza helped Ty wipe the gasoline off his face, they went about their lives while the childhood friendship they'd formed grew over the years. There weren't weeks that went by where this Tasmanian Tiger and Dingo didn't meet in the Billabongs and play different games with the Bilby children. From time to time, one of the Bilbies still teased Ty about his relations with Shazza, but that passed by with time and Shazza was soon considered one of their family's closest friends._

_Three years later, when Ty, Shazza, and the Bilbies all scurried over to the exotic Rainforest, one of Ty's adoptive brothers chased him down until he fell into that chasm... and he never saw Shazza that much again except for a few times when he was called by Nandu Gili to recover the five Mystic Talismans._

"Wow, so you and Shazza go way back. That reminds me of all those times I spent seeing your mum. That's when Boss Cass came on the scene and we had to start foiling his plans, but we can save those stories for another day. Son... now that you're both grown up, you've realized you care for Shazza as more than just a friend?"

Ty nodded, "Yes," and went on to tell his father about the first time Ty found out he was in love with Shazza. It was when Boss Cass had her kidnapped by his henchwoman, Shadow the Ghost Bat. Seeing his closest friend in danger brought out a side in him that he didn't think he had. His eyes had blazed with angry courage and he'd clenched his marsupial teeth so hard that they hurt. Fighting this Ghost Bat inside Cass's Crest, an underground place filled with hot lava, was so dangerous but if it meant saving the friend he'd known since childhood, he'd go for it.

"You really do like that girl." Having heard his youngest son's entire story, Bri came from around his booth and set his hand on his shoulder, giving him that fatherly look that was excited, proud, and happy that his son was able to meet a special person who was liked by all and who was there til' the end. "Well... I'm glad I could talk to you about this and I think your mum and I would love having Shazza over for dinner soon. Do you think she would be able to fit that into her schedule, Son?"

"Yeah," Ty gave another nod then hugged Bri and said bye as he had to leave.

Half an hour later, Bri went to stand back behind his store counter and saw Serena walking up to him to ask where Ty went. "Oh. Sorry, Serena. He was just here a while ago when we were having a father-son talk. Maybe you could ask Maurie and see if he knows where he went." In the middle of talking to his son's friend, Bri discovered some items in her hand and was told they were stuffed animals. "My son and Shazza will like those. Thanks for thinking of them."

"Your welcome." Serena turned on her heel and continued down the street with a half-smiling Bri watching her go. He was glad to have talked to Ty about Shazza; as Bri had good ole' days that he could look back on, he wanted to make sure his sons would too. This was the most that fathers could do when their boys came of age and started developing feelings they were new to.

* * *

><p>Serena did as Bri advised and found herself going down to a place where sparkling waterfalls poured with a rainbow arch showing. This was the kind of place she'd wanted to see during her vacation.<p>

She stood in awe and wonder of every scenic feature this Rainbow Cliffs had to offer until she remembered her mission and started up the hill in front of her and circled around the rocky mountain until she reached the top. Clusters of trees and bushes stood before her but she simply brushed past them until she accidentally tripped over a log and fell forward. "Oww-"

Serena hushed her crybaby self as she heard a mystical but still deep voice speaking to someone. It came from the clearing she was walking towards.

"Ty. Sharon."

"Ty?"

Serena pushed on her elbows and got up to crouch behind one of the nearest bushes. Looking through its starry-shaped leaves, she saw Ty and Shazza standing before a taller and elderly figure.

"You and your friends were able to stop Boss Cass from sending his comet here to end all life for mammals, but now there is a newer threat. The same evil that's helped Boss Cass has returned with another villain who has bigger plans," Nandu Gili informed his furry friends, "They are someone who's plotted evil in their hearts even before either of you or Southern Rivers came into existence."

"A villain who's older than Southern Rivers?" Shazza spoke up, "What is it that they're after?"

"They want their hands on the power that will allow their leader access down here so that they can finally bring the war, death, destruction, and hate they've yearned for after so many eons. It is the Essence Aura, an energy that gives us our individuality and our purpose. Imagine a fish that has water. You see how it can swim freely and breathe because it has the willpower to stay alive. Those without their Essence Auras become lifeless and can't function, so they don't get to live like that fish because what makes them isn't their bodies anymore."

Serena couldn't believe any of what she was hearing. All this discussion about new enemies and Essence Auras alarmed her so much that she knew her other friends would need to hear it soon.

"You mean these Essence Auras are like souls? Well that's no good. Possum, we gotta finds these guys responsible for this and make sure they don't take anyone's auras."

"Right as rain, Shaz!" Ty agreed with his girlfriend then looked back up at Nandu Gili, "No worries, mate, we'll keep our eyes peeled."

"Thank you, Ty. I am not sure who holds this Essence Aura that they are after yet, but at all costs you and Sharon cannot let them have their hands on it."

It was after these last words that the meeting between Ty, Shazza, and the Bunyip Elder came to a close and they went off in different directions, unaware of how fast Serena was dashing down those cliffs to hurry back and tell the other Sailor Scouts what she'd overheard.

* * *

><p>When late afternoon came, Julius strolled down the sidewalk until he reached his final destination and stood in front of the booth until a familiar Tasmanian Tiger's dad came from inside his house.<p>

"G'day, Julius!"

"G'day, Bri! I just thought I would stop by and show you the prototype for my latest invention, the Goldenrangs!" Julius held out one of his shining, golden Rangs for Bri to hold and touch.

"Beauty bottler bonza, Julius!" Bri kept turning over the Goldenrang to study it, "You've really outdone yourself this time. My sons are going to love these when they're ready."

"Yes, yes, they most certainly will. And, being that you and your wife both used to be adventurers, I had the idea that maybe you could both sell more of these Rangs in this Rang Shop."

"Really? That's a great idea!" Bri handed the koala genius his prototype Goldenrangs back. "Cheers, Julius. If only Di and Betty were here to see these Rangs of yours. Let us know when you have actual Goldenrangs in stock and we'll get back to you on selling them here in our shop."

"Sounds good."

After bidding Julius farewell, Bri looked to his right and saw Serena dash past him as if she were in a sprint race. He tried calling out to her but his shout didn't reach the girl's ears. A faint smile came to the father's lips strangely enough. Kids, and even teenagers, could be so full of excitement and spirit when you didn't expect it; he was like that at one time. So wherever Serena was hurrying off to, Bri hoped that she didn't get there too late, and meanwhile he would go see what was taking his dear wife and daughter so long with bringing back food back the grocery store.


	4. Chapter 4

**Edited: 10/4/14**

**Serena's Gift to the Lovely Couple! Seihou the Lone Star! Part TWO**

Having finished grocery shopping for four people including herself, Di paced down the street with brown paper bags while Betty walked beside her with the other bags. The walk and talk between these two was casual until Betty spotted something purple on the ground and her mother noticed it too.

"A Thunder Egg! Ty collects these whenever he needed good ole' Julius to invent him a new Rang. What's it doing out here in the middle of the road?"

After setting their groceries down, Betty stretched her arm out to touch this abandoned treasure. And... in the same manner that Mina had to face it, she and Di were caught in an explosion. So now they had dirty, tattered appearances along with food that was too splattered to eat, let alone touch.

A devastated Di waited for the explosion's smoke to clear and found a human standing in the place of the Thunder Egg that Betty had touched. It was a boy who looked like he was glad to see them unprepared and defenseless like this. "Who are you? Was it you who put this fake Thunder Egg here?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Ei-he had his arms proudly crossed, "Yes, it was me. I set that there to capture my target, while you two are just the bait. He should be here any minute now. Seihou the Lone Star! Why don't you come out and show these girls, uh... whatever it is you country folks sing about."

After a confused Ei-he gave this Melos his command, they appeared from a portal on the ground with a guitar in hand. Seihou was a female with thick, tawny pigtails, a cowboy hat that covered her eyes, and a sassy attitude that could only come from somewhere like the good ole' West.

"Sure, pardner, but these folks will have to get comfortable first." With a pretty grin and tip of her cowboy hat, a rope appeared to lasso around the Tasmanian Tigers and tie them up. "There, that should do em' well!"

If only the once adventurous Di would've brought her Boomerangs with her. But she didn't know these villainous people would show up out of the blue like this.

"Girls!"

Bri charged towards the scene with shock and anger scribbled all over his face. No wonder his girls took so long coming back with the groceries; they'd been captured by these strange bad guys here!

"No, Bri, love!" Di cried out, "This is a trap! Don't come any closer!"

"Dad!"

Betty, hoping her cry was louder than her mother's, saw that it didn't reach her dad's ears either. And so they had to watch him be entangled in some kind of music sheet and have a whitish aura seep from out of him.

"BRI!"

Di screamed louder than she ever hollered in her entire life. Her husband laid unconscious and there wasn't anything she could do to save him.

"Grrrr! This isn't the right one!" Ei-he turned away from Bri's Essence Aura as it floated in his hands, then he noticed those same Sailor Scouts from the day before show up. "And here _you five_ come again! Well Seihou, it looks like you'll be getting more members for your audience."

"Yipee!"

Betty and Di gasped at the sight of the Sailor Scouts and hoped that they could revive Bri.

"Didn't you learn your mistake from yesterday, pal?" Sailor Cosmos pointed the Cosmos Wand at Ei-he, "Now you make a man with a family who loves him so much suffer! Shame on you! In the name of the Moon, I shall right wrongs and triumph over evil, and that means you!"

"And the Sailor Scouts will also teach you a lesson!" declared Mars.

"Well, you girls know how this goes. Seihou! Finish on with that performance of yours!"

In a flash, Ei-he discarded Bri's Essence Aura and traveled through another portal to get away.

"Alright, folks! Let's get this show on the road!" Seihou stroked her guitar's strings to let their sounds go through her ears, but then she became serious and started playing an actual song that was written from the deepest, lowest places in her heart. "**Out here in the West, where the grass was always greener..."**

No one really paid attention to the rest of the words, but soon they saw musical notes come from Seihou's guitar and turn into the words she was singing. So, that would have to mean her song talked about horses being fast like the wind and cowboys who could lasso like bull riders lassoing bulls at a rodeo.

The horses and cowboys rushed at the Sailor Scouts and had them ducking and dodging any attacks they tried sending.

Venus sidestepped away from one cowboy who thought he would catch her in his lasso and tie her up. Big mistake! "VENUS... LOVE AND BEAUTY... SHOCK!"

The orange soldier's enemy screamed out in pain as he collapsed and disappeared. Soon after though, another cowboy came and tried entangling her with their rope.

Seihou never stopped singing as this battle between _her song_ and the Sailor Scouts went on. She would keep them entertained with her country tunes. **"Out here in the West, when the rooster crows and the day's just begun..."**

Jupiter had more trouble as different horses and cowboys decided to tackle her all at once. She felt sharp breezes every time they came by and almost touched her. Enough was enough.

After gaining some time to make a diagnol cross with her arms, she went on to perform her attack. "JUPITER... THUNDER... SUPREME... DRAGON!"

Betty and Di saw a dragon created from pure thunder come on the scene and obliterate all those cowboys and horses who gave these Sailor Scouts trouble.

Seihou learned that no one liked her song and so she stopped playing and had a fit. "Aww, now you folks are just plain cruel! Ya'll don't like this song of mine?"

"Hey!"

Everyone turned around to the sound of this new, angry voice and found it belonged to none other but Sly, with Ty at his side.

While the Sailor Scouts exclaimed at these two, Di felt tears forming in her eyes. "Boys!"

She watched Sly rush over to her and Betty and untie them while Ty went over to Bri's unconscious body.

"Dad...!"

Ty knelt down and picked up his father to have a better look at his face, not seeing the energy or color that once resided in him. Could this floating energy beside him be the same Essence Aura Nandu Gili told him and Shazza about?

Now highly upset when he realized Nandu Gili's words were true, Ty became red in the face, set Bri down, and glared at Seihou with his hands already reaching for his Boomerangs. "I lost my family once, and I'm not losing them again!"

"Sly! Ty! Please find a way to save your dad! That girl over there with the guitar is to blame!" Di pointed over at Seihou.

Sly shifted his cold green eyes to Seihou and was already reaching for the Doomerangs. "I'm gonna clobber you."

"Oh yeah?" With a still clear frown on her face, Seihou carelessly tossed her guitar aside and took hold of her lasso. These people didn't want to hear her sing, so she would give them what they really wanted. "I'd love to see you critters try!"

The Melos started twirling her lasso around; the Sailor Scouts saw that this battle was becoming the Tasmanian Tigers' to win, so they kept still and would be sure to step in if things got out of hand. With Seihou deciding to bring Ty and Sly's family into this, she was the one who would've needed help now.

Ty and Sly dodged the rope that came their way by jumping in the air, then together they threw their Rangs at Seihou and watched it give her double damage.

"Aww, now that wasn't fair!" Seihou whined, "EXIT STAGE LEFT!"

The lone star screamed out her last scream then died the same way any Melos would, by changing into a compact disc then breaking into hundreds of pieces.

"Dad..."

Betty went over to Bri's side as she wondered why he wouldn't wake up. Neither of her little brothers seemed to have found a way to save him, at least until Ty gave an explanation.

All Ty's relatives looked to the whitish aura he pointed to with his gloved finger. The Tasmanian Tiger tried taking hold of Bri's Essence Aura but his fingers moved through it. No way!

"Let me help you."

Ty turned around and found Cosmos walking up to him with a strange-looking stick in her hands. He stared at this angelic figure cautiously and watched them approach his dad. Sly wasn't so trusting of this Sailor Scout himself, but something about her facial expression and demeanor said that she had pure, selfless intentions.

Just like before, Cosmos found herself surrounded in a black void of stars where Bri lay breathless and motionless. The Cosmos Wand reached its peak and was spun counter-clockwise.

"MOONLIGHT... SILVER... REMEDY... TOUCH!"

Cosmos's rotating came to an end and she descended towards Ty's precious father to revive him with the Cosmos Wands' gentle touch.

After watery ripples spread out from underneath his body, Bri's Essence Aura returned to him and he came back to reality. He moaned as his eyes opened and discovered his wife and children encircled around him. "Everyone? What's going on?"

Di snatched her husband into a hug before he got his answer. Then came Betty, Ty, and Sly also embracing him.

"You were just saved by an angel, Dad," Sly gave these soft words.

The joyful son looked around for Cosmos but didn't see the heroine or her allies anywhere.

"What? She was here with her mates just a second ago," Ty thought out loud.

He and his family would've thanked the Sailor Scouts for returning Bri to normal, but they weren't anywhere to be found.

* * *

><p>The sun came down to finally draw the day to a close, tinting the clouds with its vibrant warm colors and casting shadows behind buildings and people altogether.<p>

Serena and her friends all had a long day, though before going inside to join Maureen and her daughters for dinner, they stood on the parent's front porch and all watched the sunset together; earlier when Serena met the others in front of the Lake Burramudgee Fountain and started her explanation about Ty and Shazza's meeting with Nandu Gili, they'd heard an explosion down the street and that's when they'd had to postpone their little discussion.

"You mean those villains we saw earlier are the same ones that Ty's friend warned him and Shazza about?" asked Lita.

"That would make sense," came Ami's response, "So these Essence Auras are the power they want and they send out their minions to search for them. And Sailor Cosmos's newest power is the only thing that can return a stolen Essence Aura back to its owner's body."

"But what is it about these Essence Auras, you guys?" questioned Mina, "There has to be some reason why these bad guys are after them. This vacation just got serious now that all this has been said. To think that I was going to finally get to relax!"

"Mina, you're not the only one who feels that way. What choice do we have? The Sailor Scouts are officially back on duty."

Rei turned her purple eyes towards Serena who she felt was carrying most of the world on her shoulders right about now. She set a comforting hand on Serena's shoulder and found a managed but tiny smile developing on the blonde-haired girl's face. She wouldn't have to fight this battle alone.

"Mates!"

Rei, Serena, and the rest of the team turned around and spotted Ty. He was approaching them with a treasured doll in one of his gloved hands.

"Hey, there, Ty," Lita greeted the Tasmanian Tiger, "We see you really like that present Serena bought for you. How does Shazza like her doll?"

"She's delighted as day! Cheers, Serena, for going out of your way to get these dolls for us." Ty looked back down at his plushie and wondered about the amazing girl it resembled. By now, she was probably home eating supper with Naomi and their mum, so he would leave soon to return to his house and eat supper with his own family. Ty had just wanted to thank Serena for getting him and Shazza these stuffed animals who looked a lot like them. How unexpected it was! "Well, I got my rellies waiting for me to have dinner with them. G'night, mates!"

"Goodnight, Ty!" everyone said to Ty as he turned on his heel.

* * *

><p>Ei-he sucked in a breath and pulled on the same wheel that would give the identity of his next target. That's when Ei-ni came in the room and started talking about his latest failure.<p>

"Seihou the Lone Star? You know she never gives a good performance. Maestro Virtuoso won't be happy when he hears how you've failed to locate the Silver Essence Aura _this_ time."

"Ohh, why don't you go talk your head off to Ei-to? All of your annoying blabber might make this wheel give me the wrong target."

"Hmph!"

Ei-ni took much offense to this comment and unknowingly took her brother's advice of leaving the area to go and find Ei-to's whereabouts.

The wheel finally came to a stop and Ei-he was seeing it land on the image of a koala's face. Studying it made him grow frustrated because this koala didn't look all that appealing like the girl or other animal he encountered. How was he supposed to know if this koala was the one?

...

...

"Ha... no one will ever understand the heart behind my music, but that Moon Queen and her people will wish they didn't banish me once I have the Silver Essence Aura. I can remember walking through those marble palace walls, entering the Moon Queen's presence and beginning my show by introducing myself. Her and her royal subjects were all left blushing rosy cheeks at my handsomely good looks. I took out my violin to begin my special piece and started playing as I would inside the Doom Theater. But them, with their itching ears, weren't satisfied and said my song was a tune that bears no good note. They forced me out of the palace and said I was never to step foot in the Moon Kingdom again. And so, ever since that dreadful day, I've searched the galaxy for the Silver Essence Aura until my guesses led me to this greenish-blue planet. Something about it sung out to me, and so my musicians and I have moved our theater here to continue the search. All those lost souls you sent to start new lives on this planet will love the music I play for them, _that_ I can guarantee you, Queen Serenity."


	5. Chapter 5

**Edited: 10/4/14**

**Ty's Goldenrangs! Juudai the Pop Princess!**

The hunt for the Light Thunder Eggs turned out to be successful for Ty and his mates, but the Frill Lizards still scrounged up a couple of the volcanic beauties, for reasons unknown.

"G'day, everyone! What you see here are the official Rangs created from Light Thunder Eggs and gold from the asteroid that Ty, Sly, and Ridge destroyed yesterday. I give you... the Goldenrangs!"

Julius moved aside from the table that his latest invention was on for all his friends to observe it, and they were so ecstatic when they saw it!

"You beauty!"

Ty happily reached for these Goldenrangs and watched their never-disappearing glow. For these Rangs to have its special look, Julius borrowed gold from that meteor rubble. They were like golden light bulbs that couldn't be turned off because they didn't run on batteries; Julius used his New Super Light Technology to make these Goldenrangs keep its glow.

"Good onya', Julius!" Maurie showered a compliment on the koala, "Ty is gonna have a blast with these new Rangs of yours."

"Wow!"

Serena watched Ty twirl around these forever shining Goldenrangs with a glad smile on her face. While her experience with Light Thunder Eggs wasn't nice, Ty was having a swell time with these items made from them. Maybe it was unfair, but Serena cared more that he or anyone else wasn't also shocked.

The spinning from Ty's Rangs came to an end and he looked around at his mates with a wide grin taking up most of his furry face. "Mates, I think I'm gonna test out these new beauties in the Rainforest."

"Not by yourself you're not. I want to see if you've got skills with these new Rangs of yours," said Ridge his with dark arms crossed, "If Sly was here, he would want to see too."

"Where is Sly?" responded Serena.

"Sly's at his shop where he sells Rang upgrades."

"Enough gas-bagging, blokes. Let's get a move on to see Ty here test out his new Goldenrangs."

Maurie so was excited over his son-like friend's new set of Rangs that he ushered everyone out of Julius's lab and towards the path one would take to reach the Rainforest.

* * *

><p>The Rainforest was a place full of gushing waterfalls, twisting paths, slimy swamps, and a bunch of dark critters. If one of these dark critters were to set up an ambush, they had the most advantage by coming up from the ground, under water, or down from the high treetops, so Ty and his friends would have to watch out for that. The Tasmanian Tiger didn't have any difficulty remembering this dangerous fact though; being a hero was so much easier than something like working on cars.<p>

Ty hopped over the wooden log in front of him and took in his surroundings, only to gasp when he noticed a familiar Bilby trapped in a wooden cage some ways in front of him and his comrades. What was this Bilby put in this cage for?

Instinctively, Ty threw his Goldenrangs at the cage and watched the way they released flashes of warm golden light. As amazing and extraordinary as it was, everyone had to cover their eyes so that they didn't possibly become blind.

"Wow."

As if not impressed by these Goldenrangs, Ridge opened his good eye and looked around at his mates to watch each of them uncover theirs. However, he did have to admit that Ty's new Rangs were pretty bright.

"Talk about flipping the light switch on! You could use those Goldenrangs like flashlights if you wanted to, Ty," came Maurie's supportive voice.

"Cheers, Ty! Those lizards trapped me and some of the other Bilbies in these cages after we saw them come here to look for Thunder Eggs," Ty's adoptive brother explained.

"Thunder Eggs?"

"Yeah." The Bilby surprised his older adoptive brother by pulling out a Fire Thunder Egg and handing it to him. "I managed to find this before they locked me up. Try looking for the rest of our brothers, okay Ty?"

"Sure. No worries!"

Ty and his friends walked along gentle river streams and brushed past huge leaves with Maurie being their witty but talkative guide. When there came the obstacle of crossing a log to reach another side, a giant beetle stood in their way. Ty let this beetle have a taste of the Goldenrangs and no one had to turn their faces away because their eyes quickly adjusted to its flashes.

"Ty, I see another Bilby locked in that cage up there."

Ami and her party came to a halt as she pointed out one of Ty's other close mates that was on what might've been the tallest platform Bli Bli Station had.

"Good looking out, Ami."

Ty realized how many platforms he was going to have to jump on in order to reach this Bilby. The adventurer started Rang gliding and climbing up different platforms while his allies were approached by Blue Tongues and had to switch into combative stances.

Ridge took care of all these scaly enemies with his Ultrarangs, thus giving his comrades time to retrieve the Thunder Eggs that fell from each Blue Tongue's grasp. The Tasmanian Wolf knelt down and examined one of the Electric Thunder Eggs for himself and stared at its shiny green center. He didn't seem all that phased by this object so he tossed it over to Rei and told her, "There's another Thunder Egg."

Rei accepted Ridge's finding then looked to the right where she noticed a path that curved downhill slightly with that same cool river traveling next to it. Ty jumped back down after having set the Bilby free and regrouped with his team to lead the way with the flying Maurie.

"If you ask me, it's awfully strange how these baddies are back here to find Thunder Eggs. They must've dropped more of those Light Thunder Eggs while they were flying away in their airplane."

"So does that mean this is another Thunder Egg Hunt, Maurie?" asked Elle.

"Maybe, darl," Rex answered his girlfriend's question, "We can't let those lizards have their hands on 'em. Hey Ty, what do you think of those new Rangs you've got there?"

"They're amazing! I hope I never lose 'em."

"I could say the same," Maurie added as he remembered Ty having to recovering one of his Boomerangs during his first adventure, "So do all you blokes agree that this is officially our second Thunder Egg Hunt?"

"Yeah. It only makes sense." Lita looked over the cliff that she and others turned left of and saw more Frill Lizards pacing about with several more imprisoned Bilbies. "Look, guys! More of Ty's friends are trapped in those cages."

"Well big mistake!" Ty clenched his teeth and literally leaped down from the cliff to free all the Bilbies they saw.

Meanwhile, Lita and the others followed this local hero by continuing around the cliff and meeting Frill Neck Lizards at the bottom.

"Be careful now, sheilas!" Maurie warned Lita and her main set of friends, "These lizards look like they mean business today!"

Lita, Rei, Mina, Serena, and Ami stood in a circle with their backs all facing each other. Their eyes were narrowed and fixated on the Frill Lizards who spotted them and put their fists up to start the fight. Ty and Ridge weren't having trouble with their battles, so maybe the girls would be successful too.

Each one split up and found themselves either being on offense or defense during this battle, but they came to a halt as a Frill Lizard's cry rang loudly through the area. This bad guy's vision had been pierced by the Goldenrangs' light and now they couldn't see, so his defeat was sure to come afterwards.

Ty caught his one of the Goldenrangs when it went back to him. His enemies saw how the first Frill Lizard he beat became blind, so they decided to gang up on him since he was alone and try winning the fight that way. One by one though, they ended up suffering the same predicament and lost whatever Thunder Eggs they might've picked up.

"After seeing you fight with those new Rangs of yours, you're definitely a professional. Auto-mechanic. Haha, just messing with you!" Ridge laughed at his own joke.

"Cut it out!" Ty knew what Ridge was teasing him about and ended it before the Tasmanian Wolf could get anymore humorous words in. He then went over to all the Bilbies he'd seen from that cliff earlier and broke their cages.

Ridge managed to hush himself then twitched his nose as he could smell strong fumes of fire and burnt wood.

Lita and the other girls jabbed and kicked at their opponents until they heard Ridge inform Ty about this new smell and run off with him to find it.

Obviously something serious occurred, so the girls put their sights back on the Frill Lizards who realized things weren't going to get any prettier from there on out. They were knocked out and gone sooner than Ty's Goldenrangs could fly back to him, so all the heroes, including Rex, Elle, and Maurie, gathered up the last small batch of Light Thunder Eggs and followed Ty and Ridge.

* * *

><p>When they arrived at their burning destination, Ty switched to his Frostyrangs and beat the flames down while Ranger Ken showed up in his Jeep and told Ridge the fire's smoke had also been strong to his nose.<p>

As resourceful as Ty's icy Rangs were, the Tasmanian Tiger still needed extra help from his mates. Each of them were given water buckets that Ranger Ken had inside his truck and they went back and forth from river to the fire. On and on... on and on, until Rex's water put out the last flame and ashes, burnt leaves, and vines were left.

"Thanks a bunch, Ty! If you hadn't shown up when you did, I might've had to deal with those lizards all by myself," Ranger Ken thanked Ty.

"No worries. You should also thank my mates here."

Ty exchanged glances with all of his allies and then said it was about time they return to Julius's Lab and let the professor know how testing the Goldenrangs turned out.

* * *

><p>As polite knocks came to Julius's door, the koala was anxious to hear how Ty fared in combat with his newest Rangs. He paused from screwing the bolt into his latest machine and went to answer it. His door creaked open as he twisted the knob and pulled it, but no one was there; in fact, he didn't see anyone within the vicinity. Though what caught the Julius's eye was the object he found lying down on his door mat. "Another Thunder Egg?"<p>

Julius stooped down to grab this Thunder Egg he'd never seen but experienced the same explosion that Di and Betty were familiar with. He gasped and covered his mouth because his coughing started acting up and, then the smoke vanished.

In front of him, there appeared a human boy with mistrusting green eyes. "This had better be the right one."

"Hmm? Exactly who or what are you referring to as being the right one?

"To you, obviously. Now, just be a good animal and no one get's hurt."

Ei-he wasted no time in taking out his flute and playing on it to trap Julius in the musical sheet that came from out of thin air.

Julius squirmed and groaned until he saw Ei-he raise his hand and snap his finger. After that the koala didn't see anything as his Essence Aura was sapped from his body like nectar from a flower.

"You have got to be kidding me!"

Ei-he looked around as if he expected those Sailor Scouts to show up, but they seemed to be off duty today. The Lost Chord shrugged his shoulders and let go of Julius's Essence Aura, then parted his lips to speak again.

After making his way back from Bli Bli Station, Ty was accompanied by only Maurie; Ranger Ken had forest ranger duties after all, Ridge said that he wanted to swing by the Sly Shack and see what Sly was up to, Rex and Elle wanted to go back and relax under the sun at the beach, and Serena and the girls mentioned going to check out Lake Burramudgee High School like Maureen had suggested the day before. And so Ty and Maurie approached Julius's lab, when they both gasped at a recognizable figure on the ground.

"Julius!" Ty rushed to the koala's side and looked over at his Essence Aura.

"What is that?"

Maurie flew over to the floating energy beside Ty and placed his beady eyes on it. When the Cockatoo would've received his answer, Ei-he made an interjection.

"Finally someone shows up."

"You!" Ty clenched his teeth at this villain's arrival and stood back up.

"I was afraid things would be too easy this time, but your little friend there doesn't have what I'm looking for." Ei-he opened a portal to make his getaway then moved on to the next phase of his plan. "Juudai the Pop Princess! Show these people here what your music is all about!"

As Ei-he slipped away, Ty threw one of his Rangs at the Lost Chord but they disappeared in good time. The Melos, Juudai, appeared from another portal on the ground stole the Tasmanian Tiger's attention. This one was a cheerful girl with straight blonde hair and a frilly bow, the biggest blue eyes, and a retro-looking dress that looked like it came from the 80's. In this girl's hands was a radio.

"Now who is this sheila supposed to be?" asked a too confused Maurie.

"Here we go!" Juudai put her radio on the ground then turned it on and to start the pop music she loved so much. Once the modern pop song came off to a good start, she put her mic to her lips and said, "This wouldn't be a party if it only had two people!" Then the pop star increased her radio's volume.

As the hip beats and tunes became louder, the radio grew until it was the size of a refrigerator.

"This sheila's going to bust our eardrums with her teenager music!" Maurie yelled over Juudai's song, "Ty, I'm sure you already know what I think you should do about this!"

"You bet!"

Ty would do his best to ignore how much this music's loudness was beating his eardrums. He had to turn the ridiculous thing off.

Just as Ty raised his arm to send his Goldenrangs at the noisy musical contraption, an ocean of cheers and screams crashed from behind him. "Woah!" And before the hero knew it he found himself in a sea of obnoxious teenagers. They all saw their favorite singer swaying to the beat of her radio and were so happy.

"Juudai! Juudai! Juudai!" They kept cheering.

Ty found himself fighting to get out of this enormous group of young adults. They confused him by calming down and spreading out to give him personal space, but brought alarm when they became monsters and dove forward to attack. He evaded and dodged these several attempts with the newest idea formed in his head some minutes later.

Maurie saw what kind of plan the marsupial had in mind as he brought what was known as the Multirangs. "Good thinking there! That'll get rid of those blokes all at once!"

Multirangs flew back and forth from Ty's gloved hands as if there were toy yo-yos. The monsters turned into purplish black smoke when they met their demise and were annihilated faster than Juudai expected.

With no more teenagers to help spice this party she'd started, Juudai got upset and went over to her radio to play the next song, but noticed something gold and bright fly past her and smash it in pieces. While the Melos's music box exploded, the light from Ty's Goldenrangs hurt her eyes and left her blinded for a few seconds. "No! How could you? Now no one can listen to my music!"

Ty threw one of his Goldenrangs at Juudai and watched it leave a scar of light on her arm. This didn't happen to any of Cass's scaly baddies!

"EXIT STAGE LEFT!"

Juudai felt herself turn back into the compact disc she originally was and fell to the ground in pieces.

"Good job, Ty! That teenager music would've busted our eardrums if you'd blown up that radio a minute later."

Ty agreed with Maurie as he started massaging his ears gingerly. Then Tasmanian Tiger returned to a still unconscious Julius and Maurie asked about the Essence Aura they saw and how they would get it back inside his body.

"Well, where is the angel?" Maurie looked around and never saw a girl with wings flapping around, but him and Ty heard a pair of boots click against the ground behind them and noticed her.

"Grouse! Mate, we need your help to revive our friend, Julius," Ty said to Cosmos with a grateful tone.

Cosmos nodded and went up to Julius to begin her healing technique. "SILVER... MOONLIGHT... REMEDY... TOUCH!"

The Cosmos Wand's rotation came to a stop while she left the twinkling diamond stars from up above and touched Julius's head as she'd done twice before. Watery ripples emerged from under his furry body and that was when he started waking up and discovered just two of his good friends standing over him.

"Welcome back, Julius," began an all so relieved Maurie.

He and Ty each took one of Julius's arms to help the restored koala back up to his feet and informed him of the person who had harmed him.

"_Essence Auras_, you say? I don't think I've ever heard of those before. So we must all be on our guard to watch out for these villains who keep returning to look for the particular one."

"How are we supposed to know who has this special Essence Aura that these baddies keep coming back for?" asked Maurie.

"We don't know that part, unfortunately, Maurie," Julius replied. "Ty, I suggest you propose a Bush Rescue Team Meeting so all of our team mates can discuss this."

"Good idea."

* * *

><p>Ei-he could go complain about his recent failure to one of his siblings, but they would just tell him what he already knew, and so the furious but smart Lost Chord saved himself trouble by going backstage, back in front of Virtuoso's wheel. In the middle of pulling the device's lever to make it spin, he wondered where his master got it from.<p>

Ei-to appeared beside his younger brother soon enough and watched the wheel start spinning...

* * *

><p>Sounds of crackling embers, light chirps from grasshoppers, night blue ponds, and pleasant laughter were what lingered under the stars and moon in the part of "Bridge On The River Ty," the moonlit billabong where Dennis used to live in his tree house.<p>

Serena, Mina, Ami, Lita, Rei, Maurie, Naomi, and Sly all brought their laughs to a close after Ridge finished telling them the story behind the joke he said to Ty earlier. Apparently, when Ty was just a child, he whacked Shazza's car engine with his Rangs because he thought that's what would help her check its condition, but instead oil came gushing out and got all over his face.

It probably was a good thing that this Tasmanian Tiger wasn't near the group to hear Ridge repeat his joke or else they'd get into an argument or possibly even a fight, but no one knew why he preferred to be alone on this peaceful night.

Shazza slipped away from their friends when they returned to chatting with one another and exploring their surroundings so she could see where Ty went. He was alone on one of the wooden bridges next to a lit wastebasket where he could stare down at the lake and collect his thoughts.

A familiar voice came from behind Ty. After he saw it belonged to Shazza, they started talking about the topic at their Bush Rescue Meeting from earlier.


	6. Chapter 6

**Edited: 10/4/14**

**Di's Hardest Adventure! Ojou the Fair Maiden! PART ONE **

In the same fashion as before, Virtuoso's wheel stopped on a target that wasn't human, but an animal. And if this wasn't the worst surprise for Ei-he that day, his next target was an anthropomorphic person who he'd seen already. Just how many odds were in his favor?

Some time later, Meloses of all kinds sat in the Doom Theater seats as there would be an arrival up on the stage. They chattered with each other until the curtains drew open and one of the most well-known Lost Chords presented himself.

Ei-he looked at the audience until he saw a Melos with the prettiest golden hair and innocent forest animals singing her sweet melody with her. He decided that this Melos would be the one who he sent to get rid of those Sailor Scouts and any other heroes once and for all.

* * *

><p>Serena and the girls tended to always walk past Di and Bri's Rang Shop when they were out and about but never actually stopped to visit and check the place out. So, having eaten breakfast and bid Shazza and Naomi farewell as the Dingo sisters left to work at their Bunyip Mech Shop, the humans went over to Di and Bri's Rang Shop. In the middle of their walk, Sergeant Bluey crossed paths with them and started conversing about how much he'd learned just by chatting with Lake Burramudgee civilians everyday; Bush Rescue kept Southern Rivers under control, so this koala was basically on vacation.<p>

"G'day, sheilas! Have any of you ever seen this town's water fountain? It's about just one of its nicest parts," Sergeant Bluey told the girls.

All five girls looked in the direction he pointed to and were intrigued by how pretty and elegant the water fountain was. It's water flowed from out of what looked like a Thunder Egg laid on its back and fell down into a pool that looked so deep but would probably only reach to Lita's thigh if she stepped in; Lita was a very tall girl.

"That water fountain looks so nice. Guys, why don't we make this our new hangout spot like how we always get together at Rei's place back home?" Serena asked the group.

"I'm okay with that," came Lita's voice.

"It's alright with me too. From here, we have a great view of everything around us, so anywhere we go isn't that far away," Ami added her longer and more detailed opinion.

"I could agree with Ami on that," answered Rei.

"I don't see why not," Mina gave her response, "So... from here to Ty's parents house, wouldn't we go right?"

"Would we? I'm not sure if I remember how to get there," Lita rubbed the back of her head sheepishly, "Don't you remember the way, Serena?"

"Of course I do. We go straight past this water fountain."

"I'm not sure if that sounds right to me." Rei gazed in the direction Serena pointed and felt uncertainty tugging at her confidence. "If we go the way Serena says, that'll take us to Dennis's House."

"Rei, I think you might be the one who's confused," Serena said to this raven-haired girl.

"Me, confused? No. The path I said is right and you and Mina just got it mixed up."

"Well, I'm the only one who's ever seen Ty's parents' shop, Rei."

"_And_? Your sense of direction is about as bad as your clumsiness!"

"No it is not!"

"Woah, woah! Settle down sheilas."

Sergeant Bluey came just in time and broke up the dispute between Serena and Rei before it got any worse. Apparently, they were wondering which way to take if they wanted to reach Di and Bri's Rang Shop. Well, wonderful for them, Sergeant Bluey remembered all the areas in Lake Burramudgee like the back of his hand, from the main business facilities down to the smaller stores, deeper into the residential areas. He could thank Bush Rescue for giving him all the free time to memorize their town like a map. "Now do you five know how to get here?"

Serena and the others all gave heads nods.

"Grouse!" Sergeant Bluey waved hello to Bri but good-bye to the girls then turned on his heel and walked off.

"G'day, girls! Are you all here to buy yourselves some Rangs?"

"Oh, no. Actually, we just wanted to drop by and say hello. Serena has walked past here a few times but never checked out your shop or went inside your home to visit you and your family," Ami explained to Bri.

"Ah, okay. Well, no one's here right now except Di and I." Bri turned to his right as he heard his wife come from inside their house to see who he was taking to. "Hello, love. These girls showed up just now to say hello."

"How nice. Well, you girls are free to come by and visit our shop anytime."

As Ty's mother made this statement, she brought shock to all when she moved away from Bri's intimate arm that he wanted to wrap around her shoulders.

Everyone was left awkward, and so out of embarrassment, Di went back inside her house behind the Rang Shop. What was going on?

Serena, for one, found herself unable to move her lips when she wanted to part them and say something to Bri, but the Tasmanian Tiger looked like he was too depressed to talk; whatever could be said to help lift his spirits was beyond Serena's knowledge.

"Er... maybe it's time you girls went farther down the street and checked out Sly's shop."

Bri gave a simple wave to his human friends and watched them start off to their next destination with some hurt in his aged blue eyes.

Sometime after Serena and the others were away from Bri and Di's Rang Shop and almost at Sly's Shack, she opened her mouth to finally say what was on her heart. "What was that just now? I've never seen Di treat Bri like that before. Usually they're happy and very close."

"That's the same thing I was thinking. Unless Di's just in a bad mood and doesn't feel like being around people," said Mina.

"I hate to say it, you two, but maybe this is a situation we shouldn't stick our noses into."

"Rei, You can't tell me you're not the least bit worried," Serena insisted, "You're an expert on love. Maybe you've seen a situation like this before and you have the answers they need."

"Every partner in a relationship has their bad days sometimes. Ty's parents have been together for over 25 years, so their personalities are bound to clash with each other. But... I do have to admit that I've never seen a situation like this. Maybe it's that time in her life where she starts going through different phases."

"Rei, you don't mean to say that Ty's mother could be going through her mid-life crisis?" Ami brought up this psychological term.

"_Mid-life crisis_?" Serena, Mina, and Lita asked with puzzled looks.

"A mid-life crisis is a stage in every person's life when they realize their life may be more than halfway over. It's a natural process that everyone will go through, but can be very uncomfortable because it cause us to make decisions we might regret later," Rei informed everyone.

"What do you mean when you say make decisions we might regret later?" Lita queried.

"What Rei means is that there's different choices people can make but most won't give them the results they're hoping for. Some feel that psychotherapy is the answer to all their problems, or there's people who make drastic changes to their lives and find out later that nothing never needed any changes, but they're just bored or feeling over-adventurous and question if they made correct decisions in the past," Ami clarified Rei's explanation.

"So Ty's mom is going through that right now?" Mina asked with a sympathetic tone.

"I can't say for sure. I just know that's one of the biggest things people her age have to put up with."

Rei thought to her grandpa as a prime example of someone who went through their mid-life crisis but the priestess didn't want to include that in this discussion because the experiences that went along with it were too dreadful to share. "So, Serena and Mina, let's not get ourselves deeper into this than we already have. Ty's dad will take care of her, and before you know it she'll be back to her old self and their marriage will be sweet like before and everything will be back to the way it was. You'll see."

"Couldn't we at least tell Sly about his mom?"

"Given that him and his siblings all still live with her, I don't see how it could hurt to let him know," Ami looked to Rei as she and Serena spoke these sentences to her. They weren't so much looking to the raven-haired girl for permission, but they looked to her for advice since she was more experienced in love and relationships than all of them combined.

"Well... okay, we'll try. Where's Ty?"

"I think he and Bush Rescue went out to make another delivery," assumed Mina, "There's Sly's Shack, you guys."

Mina halted in front of this Rang Upgrade store and felt nervousness that was hidden away come creeping back. She and the others wished Di's kids would understand this phase she was going through.

Contrary to Rei and the rest of the girls' beliefs, the tension between Bri and Di got worse. Di behaved in a number ways that Bri couldn't quite explain. It started with how Di talked to him about how their children were older but could still live with them with their spouses and kids if they needed too. Bri wouldn't mind, except the father felt that men should establish homes for their families independently. His boys were strong and experienced enough to deal with this other adventure of providing for others. Even Betty's boyfriend, Duncan, if he became married to her someday... at least if maybe the hipee didn't decide to move their family outdoors.

Regarding the tension between Ty's parents, there came another time where Bri caught his wife studying herself in the mirror and touching at her hair and face as if she'd never examined it before. He went up to her and asked was she looking at herself in the mirror to decide what outfit to buy whenever she went back to Lake Burramudgee Mall. Instead of getting a response for that, Di told Bri that she was reflecting on her past and wondering if she made the right choices about becoming an adventurer and opening up this shop of theirs. She was questioning who she was and telling her husband that maybe they should let Ty inherit their business while they buy a yacht to explore the rest of the world outside Southern Rivers. So, for the time being, things between this married couple weren't that good.


	7. Chapter 7

**Edited: 10/4/14**

**Di's Hardest Adventure! Ojou the Fair Maiden! PART TWO**

Di was invited to go out with Maureen to lunch an hour after Serena and the girls visited Bri and her. These mothers hadn't interacted with each other much because of all the disasters Boss Cass dished out on their town, but now they'd finally have that chance.

Besides helping out at Lake Burradmudgee High School, Maureen loved shopping and absolutely loved buying new clothes. Her and Di visited some shops to start off their day then sat down at a cafe to eat and talk about their children, particularly Ty and Shazza.

Within all that time these parents talked, Maureen sensed that Ty's mother wasn't ready to see him sweep Shazza off her feet and go down that wedding aisle with her. Fortunately for Di, Maureen admitted that sometimes she wished her daughters were still little girls and weren't into guys and growing up so soon either. This honesty cheered Di up to some extent; she thanked the Dingo for inviting her out here to this cafe and said it was a great place.

"Toodle-oo, Di dear!" Maureen gave her friend a fair hand wave then walked off until she walked through a crowd of people and couldn't be seen anymore.

It was getting pretty close to sunset; Di knew her hubby would be hungry soon, and her children would all complete their obligations for the day, so she started her way back home. Though somewhere in between her trip, she noticed a girl who she was sure Sly had something for because of the shy behaviors they would show when they were near each other.

"Oh! G'day, Di!" Naomi pleased Di with her polite greeting.

"G'day, sweetie. What brings you here to downtown?"

"There was something I needed to ask you about your son, Sly." Naomi saw the way her friend's mother curled her lips into a playful smile. "I mean, it's just about if he's likes going to birthday parties or not."

"Birthday parties?"

"Yeah," Naomi replied as the pink on her cheeks was still fading away, "I'm going to turn 18 and my mum says I should throw a big birthday bash. I'm going to invite all of my friends, so that's why I needed to ask how Sly would feel if I invited him."

"Well of course he'd love to go! Believe me, my son has changed a lot since you met him. Just send him an invitation and I'm sure he'll accept it." Di smiled in the hopes that this female friend of Sly's would be encouraged and wear a smile on her own face.

Naomi curled her lips a bit then thanked Di for her help.

"A Thunder Egg?"

Quickly, Naomi and Di turned around to find another civilian take notice of the Thunder Egg they'd apparently found and kneel down to have a closer look at it.

"No! Don't go near that!"

Naomi bolted away from Di to warn this individual not to touch the object they found, but they didn't listen and she wasn't close enough to steer them away from it. Her and the curious person panicked as the Thunder Egg exploded and engulfed them both in puffy gray smoke.

"Naomi!" Di rushed over to Naomi and after the smoke cleared asked if she and the civilian had any injuries. Then, as she should've expected, that human boy appeared. "It's you again!"

While the civilian discovered Ei-he then got frightened and ran away, Di reached for her Rangs while Naomi took out a special energy blaster that Bush Rescue advised her to carry after their meeting from yesterday. She might've not been a better combatant like her sister, but this Dingo still had guts.

"So, we meet again, Boomerang Lady," Ei-he addressed Di with this nickname, "Believe it not, you're my target this time. Let's get this show on the road!" Ei-he pulled out his flute and from there the rest was easy... at least until he felt something knock his instrument out of his hands and make it fall to the ground and shatter. "Grrrrrrr... hey! That was my only instrument you just destroyed! You'll pay for that!"

When Di's Rangs came back to her, she heard the snap of a finger and noticed a musical sheet show up to trap her. Unlike most people her age, she was still quick on her feet and evaded it.

Naomi used this time to start firing shots from her energy blaster, gun but Ei-he was swift as well and made the fighter waste all her attempts. She heard Sly's mom tell her, "Hurry, run away from here as fast you can!"

"But I can help! Bush Rescue is aware of these mysterious attacks!"

Soon after Naomi stated this, she and Di _both_ felt themselves trapped in Ei-he's music sheet.

As Ei-he was hoping to do before, he snapped his fingers again and finally caused Di's Essence Aura to leave her body.

Naomi gasped at what she was seeing. Di's color and consciousness left her body, she was literally not moving; it was like this human had sucked out all her energy and left her bone dry.

The deprived Tasmanian Tiger fell down and so Naomi came tumbling down to the hard concrete with her.

Naomi couldn't see her face since they fell forwards, but she wasn't hearing any signs of breathing. "... Di..." She couldn't even finish this sentence with how shocked and afraid she'd became.

Ei-he inspected Di's Essence Aura and let go of it with a hot temper coming on. "I knew that this wasn't the right one either! I'm starting to think that wheel of Maestro Virtuoso's has something against me!"

"Hey, you!"

Ei-he turned around at the sound of this cold voice and found Sly glaring at him with his Doomerangs gripped around his finger. "And then there came the good guy to interfere!"

"Sly!" Naomi exclaimed.

"You've messed with my mum. Now, I'm gonna mess with you."

Sly threw his Rangs at Ei-he and was able to land perfect hits on him.

Ei-he let out a painful scream and was now gravely injured. The Doomerangs usually defeated their enemies with a one-hit K.O., so if Ei-he were any weaker the Lost Chord would've been done for. He managed to escape the wrath of Sly's attack, barely.

Sly's Doomerangs spun back to him and he noticed his opponent call for another villain from a portal on the ground then retreat into one that opened right beside him.

The enemy who came from the ground wore a medieval dress and a golden circlet atop her head, and her name was Ojou the Fair Maiden. Alongside Ojou were some blue birds, brown deer, and cuddly, cute rabbits.

"La la la, la la la!" was what this Ojou started singing with her gentle voice. The Melos's birds all sweetly chirped her words, so she continued on. "My little friends, something has gone amuck." After hearing her feathered friends sang back to her for the second time, Ojou went on to say in a sing-song tone, "This creature here wants to destroy all our dreams. We mustn't let him get away with that. Will you all help me?"

Each of Ojou's forest friends agreed to help her, so when she started singing again, they each turned to Sly with evil glares then charged at him like a pack of ravaging wolves. The sweet innocence resting in these animals must've have disappeared because it wasn't there now. They were out for blood.

Sly jumped out of their way and reached for his Rangs. When he threw them at his targets they sped on past the weapons as if he'd meant to miss. "They're fast." The Tasmanian Tiger caught his Rangs again then prepared for when the animals came his way a second time.

Ojou returned to singing her beautiful song notes, only now her voice was added with some kind of unusual magic that caused her hair to start glowing.

Naomi noticed this supernatural phenomenon and realized what else was happening to Ojou's hair. Along with the way it brightened up like the sun, it was growing in length. Soon the Melos's hair reached past her ankles and sat on the ground like piles of golden yarn.

Sly never caught sight of this, but heard Naomi warn him to watch out and learned why the Dingo did this when he saw Ojou's hair streak past him. It had a mind of its own! "Now that's what you call a lot of hair."

Ojou made her vicious hair come back to her so she could speak to her furry friends. "La la la, la la la! My friends, we mustn't let this one get away. Charge at him with all you've got!"

Ojou's animals obeyed her instructions and rushed at Sly with the same full force as before, except this time, each creature was sent to the ground by another, unexpected pair of Rangs. Ojou made a overly dramatic gasp when she spotted this.

Sly turned to where these Rangs came from and was glad to see the person who threw them. "Hey, Ridge. What took you so long?" Sly asked with a half-smile.

"Dennis had me and some of our mates do an odd job for him. Then I decided to see what you were up to and found you coming over here." Ridge ended his answer there and turned towards Ojou with a serious demeanor. "Wow. You send little animals to fight us? I'm not impressed."

"Hmph!" Ojou made a cute frown then parted her lips again to start singing about the fantastical dreams she had about being a princess. As the Melos finished the first verse, strange things began to happen. Sparkling rivers, fresh trees and bright red mushrooms sprouted from the ground while butterflies, squirrels, owls, and even Prince Charming on his royal noble steed came into existence.

The heroes now found themselves in some type of fairy tale forest and were distracted with its fictional scenery. They saw the ever-singing Ojou notice her prince and be swept off her feet to ride with him into a golden sunset to their happily ever after, but that delightful ending never came. Their enemy used this opportunity to distort her fairy tale into a nightmare that was dark, vile, and monstrous. While all the trees and mushrooms shriveled up, the squirrels and owls assaulted Sly and Ridge while the butterflies fluttered all around their faces to hinder their vision; squirrels bit them while the owls hooted and tried poking their eyes out.

When Ridge knocked these enemies off of him and stepped back some feet, he raised his Ultrarangs and smacked them away. He was mad that those ugly squirrels had left bite marks all over his body.

Sly swatted away the butterflies who were in his face away then followed Ridge's action and kept throwing his Doomerangs until all Ojou's minions were no more. Neither Rang bearer heard the Melos sing her song after that, but they did hear a loud neigh and pair of clomping horse footsteps.

Before them, a knight in shining black armor was galloping on his horse with his sword in his left hand. When this knight was within their bounds, he lifted his blade and started swinging it at his enemies.

Back and forth, Sly and Ridge evaded this knight's blows. Rangs weren't the best weapons for close combat so these Tasmanian Tigers tried breaking away, but their opponent t wasn't about to let that happen.

It was after another missed strike that the knight was kicked in the head and his helmet came off. Then, to make matters worse, one of his carnivorous foes jumped up and sunk their teeth into him. He and the rest of Ojou's magical landscape disappeared after this and so she was left with two heroes facing her who looked ready to end the fight once and for all.

They wasted no time in throwing the Doomerangs and Ultrarangs at the same time to annihilate her.

"My happily ever after, and all my dreams! Now it'll all never come true!" Ojou felt the Rangs bring crucial damage to her. She let out her last lovely note then met her beautiful demise. "EXIT STAGE LEFT!" The Melos turned into a CD as monsters like her usually did, then she shattered to pieces.

The music sheet holding Naomi and Di disappeared While Di still lay unconscious, Naomi got up to her feet and turned to Ridge and Sly. "Am I glad to see the two of you here! Sly, your mum isn't breathing and her Essence Aura is right here. How do we put it back inside of her?"

"I'll tell you how." Ridge noticed a familiar person flying above all of them and watched them descend to come and bring justice. "By an angel."

Naomi's mouth fell open as she saw Cosmos and was amazed to know that this was the person who Ty had said saved his dad and Julius a while ago. For being an angel, she was very gorgeous.

Cosmos rotated her wand and it seemed to be that everything around Di and her disappeared. Together, they were in the same dimension that had darkness but also clusters and clusters of shiny stars.

The Cosmos Wand was spun counter-clockwise as it reached maximum power. "SILVER... MOONLIGHT... REMEDY... TOUCH!"

Ready to use the same magic that saved her other friends, Cosmos landed in front of Di and put the top of the Cosmos Wand to her head. Shining ripples of water flowed from under Di's body as her Essence Aura was returned to her. Her eyes flickered open and she met the faces of Sly, Ridge, and Naomi.

"Di, you're alright!" Naomi stated happily, "You were rescued by that same angel who saved Julius and your husband."

"Really?" Di took the arms of Sly and Ridge as they helped her stand up. "Well I wish we could thank her for all she's done. Where is she _now_?"

"Off to wherever her home is, probably," Ridge said with his arms crossed, "Sly and I tried to ask her who she was but she wouldn't identify herself. I guess she wants to remain anonymous."

Di looked to Sly, staring into his eyes and seeing how determined her son was to learning more about this angel. "We'll find out sooner or later, Mum."

* * *

><p>Later on in the evening, everyone was in their homes either sitting down to warm dinners or getting ready to call it a night. Serena and her friends told Maureen they would be back to have dinner with her, Shazza, and Naomi, but they needed to make another stop by Bri and Di's place.<p>

"They all look so happy sitting down to dinner," Serena shared this thought amongst her friends.

"I hope Ty and the others will be able to help his mom while she goes through this stage in her life," Lita made this _concerned_ comment.

"They will. All of them might be always busy with their jobs, but you can easily see that they're actually very close." Rei acknowledged this statement of hers as she looked at Bri who had the biggest smile on his face. Ty had made a joke about something and caused everyone to break into laughter, and Bri looked the most at peace. Maybe his wife wasn't behaving like usual, but he'd learned about her mid-life crisis and was willing to help her through it.

Mina stretched her arms and let out a yawn. "Just watching them eat is starting to make _me _hungry. Is everyone ready to go back now?"

All of Mina's friends said yes so they moved from the illuminating lamppost they'd been standing under and walked away.

* * *

><p>An all too familiar growl could be heard inside the Doom Theater's backstage. Ei-ni and Ei-to came from wherever they were to see about it, and sure enough, they found their little brother with his head face-down on the piano keyboard.<p>

"You could sit there with your head down, but then who would send out the next Melos to search for our target?" Ei-to displayed encouragement through his sophisticated voice.

This Lost Chord watched Ei-he decide to lift his head up and turn around in the piano's chair to face everyone.

"Ei-to, I give you appreciation for trying to encourage me, but that isn't going to change the fact that already four Meloses have been wasted on this job of ours."

"Well, there are still a lot more left, you know. And who were you thinking of choosing to send out for the next target that Maestro Virtuoso's wheel gives you?"

"Hey, I know what Melos our little brother could pick next!" interjected Ei-ni, "Who is the Melos that's talented at playing the trumpet?"

"Their name's Toranpetto, and no, I am not sending him out," Ei-he retorted quickly.

"Why?"

"Because he's not the strongest."

"You need more than just strength, Ei-he. See, this is why you've messed up the last four times."

"Oh, now you're the expert all of a sudden! Alright, go on, Ei-ni. Enlighten me and Ei-to with your _Melos Wisdom. _"

"I wasn't saying I've got it all figured out." Ei-ni heaved out a sigh, "Okay... remember that trick I told you I had up my sleeve, that I hadn't even told Ei-to about? Well, I-I'll fill you in on it since you're in so much trouble."

"Oh, this should be good," Ei-he replied sarcastically.


	8. Chapter 8

**Edited: 10/4/14**

**Maurie's Self Reflection! Shima the Reggae Master! PART ONE**

Sometime in the early afternoon, Bush Rescue finished delivering new mechanic tools to Sneath that his dad from Cassopolis ordered for him to use, and now each member went their own way through Lake Buramudgee to fulfill their other daily activities. But Maurie... this ole' Cockatoo needed a nap after all the running around that he and his mates did.

This bird retreated to his house that was a block away from Maureen's and grabbed himself a resorts magazine to read while he kicked back and relaxed in his easy chair. He let out a yawn and started flipping through pages to see islands that were so rich and beautiful with vegetation and fruit. "Hmm..."

Maurie started imagining himself at these different places he was eyeing, in other words, away from home. There was always a part in him that wondered what it would be like to feel the soft sand between his clawed toes. Let the cool winds massage his body and sway his feathers. Simply relax within its serenity. But he could never be gone too long from Southern Rivers. His mates needed him, especially Ty. Why, if Maurie wasn't mistaken, that local hero had become almost like a son to him. Being away from Ty for a long time probably would make the Tasmanian Tiger miss him, and Maurie would get homesick and want to fly back home fast.

As reasonable and touching as this reason for not leaving might've sounded to some, there were still those who would say Maurie should go on vacation.

"Maurie, you 'oughta' retire now that Ty's all grown-up."

"You've taught Ty practically everything he knows, so why not take a break from the Tin Lid and go visit one of those places you're always looking at in your magazine? You deserve a break."

"The Tin Lid won't be bothered that you're gone longer than usual. Trust me, he's got the whole world on his shoulders."

Even though Maurie kept hearing insistent answers like these, he just ignored them. He wouldn't go away on vacation, and that was the bottom line. Everything he wanted was right here in Lake Burramudgee, and this time in Ty's life was where he would need all the support and togetherness he could get from his friends.

"Ty's the closest thing I've ever had to a son. Now what would I look like just packing my bags and going to one of these tropical resorts, when the truth of the matter is that he needs me? Out of the question!"

Feeling rejuvenated and remembering some more business that was happening down at Bush Rescue in an hour, Maurie got up from his easy chair, put his magazine down, and started for the door.

* * *

><p>Inside Bush Rescue HQ, there was a laboratory, an airstrip, a medical clinic, the mechanic room and cafeteria that Sneath worked in, and the training grounds. Unlike the training grounds that existed before Boss Cass destroyed New Burramudgee and made it become Lake Burramudgee, now their courses offered practice battles against a yellow robot that resembled Ty, known as, Cy. In the past, Ty sparred against this type of mechanized fighter in Julius's Training Ground, but now, since Julius and Sneath made duplicates, they were always used for new Bush Rescue recruits or former Bush Rescue members who wanted to polish their skills.<p>

Since Lake Burramudgee had its newest visitors, Serena, Rei, Ami, Lita, and Mina, these girls were invited to watch Ty and his crew practice fighting against these Cy Robots from a good distance; it all took place in a gated area just outside the cafeteria.

"It's really nice that Ty's letting us watch him and the others spar against these robots like this," came Mina's cheerful voice, "They say that those Cy Robots don't just fight, but they even talk and always speak using puns."

"Huh? That sounds weird," Lita crossed her arms as she and her cohorts watched Ty, Sly, Shazza, Ranger Ken, and Ridge all choose a Cy Robot to duel with.

"Greetings, Ty unit. Let us have this practice fight and see if your strengths and weaknesses have changed," Ty's opponent began with their robotic voice.

"Sure, mate!"

"Forgive me if I seem too defensive. I just went to visit Julius and I found out I have a new firewall installed on my hard drive. I am not allowed to download anymore new programs."

An anime sweat-drop came down Lita's face as she listened to this pun just given and realized Mina hadn't been kidding about the puns concept.

"No worries!" Ty got into his fighting position and brought out his Boomerangs. The training started when he threw them and his opponent dodged like they just said they would.

"Now I hope I didn't miss any of the action," came Maurie's voice from behind Lita and the other girls.

"No, you came just in time," Ami assured her white feathered friend, "I assumed it was Bush Rescue who created Cy, but Sneath told us that they actually never learned of his true origin. Why is that?"

Maurie started scratching his head as this question of Ami's seemed too complicated even for him with his wisdom. "Well, our mate Sneath told you right. When we first met Cy, he was seen waltzing through town like he was an ordinary citizen. We became suspicious after the first two days, but when our good ole' mate, Julius, took him in and did some research, he didn't find any evil objectives programmed in his systems. So, we see now that he just wants to be treated like the rest of us, and we have dozens more of him since he's got his own set of Rangs."

"Oh, I get it. Before he showed up here, something must've went wrong with his programming and now he isn't configured to carry out any villain's plans anymore," Rei gave this full analysis of the situation, "We'll never know if it was Boss Cass or Julius's uncle Karlos who created him."

"Right as rain, sheila." Seconds after Maurie replied like this, the Cockatoo flew out of harm's way as one of those Cy Robots' Rangs flew towards him. "Oi! What's the big idea of throwing those Rangs over _here_?"

Rei and the other girls noticed this for themselves and started running away. Those Cy Robots obviously weren't behaving well as sparks kept coming from out of them as if they were about to explode or lose their powers and shut off like overheated computers. No, they went berserk and now their Rangs were flying all over the place!

Just as everyone prepared to move and flee back into the Bush Rescue Cafeteria, one of the Cy Robots Rangs came Serena's way. She found herself being clocked in the head by that boomerang and all she began seeing then was stars.

"Serena!"

* * *

><p>...<p>

...

After however long Serena saw complete darkness, she regained consciousness. Her eyes opened and her vision its clearness returned. Where was she?

With an ache still throbbing from the side of her head, Serena slowly rose to sit up... in bed... and was surprised to see who sat at the opposite far end of the room with an orange jug in their feathered hand.

"Oh. I see youse' finally woken up, Serena." Maurie took a drink from his dish then set it down and came over to the side of the bed that she was on. "After the beating you took, your mates decided to let you lay down and rest here."

"Where are they?"

"Probably downtown checking out Lake Burramudgee's little shops. But you gotta still catch some shut-eye."

"Didn't they want to wait for me?" Serena began studying the room she was in. "Whoever lives here is probably expecting me to come back too."

"Well _this is_ _my_ house," Maurie said as if Serena was supposed to already know.

"Really?" Serena looked around at everything in Maurie's house again then turned her sights back to the bird. "It looks so comfortable..."

"That's the way it has to be, with all the action me and my team take on. But enough gas-bagging. We need to get some something to put on that injury of yours."Just a few minutes later, Maurie was watching Serena hold an ice-pack to the side of her head. "Now that should help it go down. Meanwhile, you contact our good mates and let 'em know you've woken up while I go get some snacks and goodies to munch on."

"Thanks, Maurie."

"Don't mention it."

* * *

><p>Being in front of Lake Burramudgee Fountain <em>did<em> feel peaceful and splendid as Serena and her friends figured it would. Those who went downtown, Lita, Rei, Mina, Ami, Ty, Sly, Shazza, and Naomi, all met in front of this fountain as they finished strolling through downtown and were about to go to Maurie's house since Serena contacted them. She woke up and was feeling a little better.

Naomi turned towards the water in the fountain as she was sure she heard something fall in and splash.

"What's up?" Sly asked as he noticed this Dingo's curious behavior.

"I thought I heard something fall inside this water fountain."

Sly and the rest of Naomi's friends looked to where she pointed, and past all the watery blue ripples, also saw something lurking at the bottom. They wished they could have a clearer view of what it was, and so because of this, Naomi bent forward to stick her arm in the water and grab the unknown object.

"Hey!"

Sly also reached his hand in to stop Naomi from extending any further, but the Dingo already performed her action and suddenly everyone was attacked by a huge explosion. The group was knocked away and landed in front of someone's house on their front lawn. The water fountain now laid in pieces around a giant hole where one could look down and see its busted water pipes.

After so much coughing and not being able to see through the explosion's smoke, Shazza heard water crazily spraying out from the broken water pipes. "Oh no! That fountain's water pipes have been busted open! We gotta find a way to repair it!"

"But who was responsible for that explosion just now?" asked an angry Lita.

Before the brunette could speak more, the explosion's smoke cleared away and she and her allies found an army of monsters who looked like the beings called Undifferentiated Daimons, pinkish-red blobs with gelatinous bodies who never fused with any inanimate objects.

"Shivers! What are those?" Shazza grew disgusted.

The Dingo took out her laser gun while Ty, Sly, and Ridge all got out their Rangs. These pinkish-red blobs looked very deadly.

* * *

><p>"Rei?"<p>

Serena heard her scout communicator beep and took the call to see Rei's face appear. She had terrible news that some type of Daimon monsters showed up and now Ty and the other furry heroes were busy fighting them. So Serena hopped out of bed and told Maurie the situation who'd finished eating snacks with her sometime ago and was back in their easy chair looking through another resorts magazine.

This Cockatoo and Serena bolted out the door but saw Ei-he standing on Maurie's lawn.

"Both of you look like you're in a hurry to get somewhere. Can't you stick around and see what I have to say?"

Ei-he felt so confident and took out his flute to play the melody that would trap Maurie in the same overused music sheet, then he snapped his finger and obtained Maurie's Essence Aura, all in one swift motion.

"Maurie!" Serena couldn't believe that she was seeing Maurie as an empty and lifeless body.

"This isn't the right one either!" Ei-he discarded Maurie's Essence Aura after closely inspecting it. "Why is this all so hard?"

"Because you're _evil_!"

Ei-he heard Serena reply like this and turned to the courageous girl.

"COSMOS, MOON, POWER!" Serena raised her Cosmos Moon Article above her head, and when its lid came open, silver light enveloped her then exploded to reveal her in her Sailor Scout suit. "I won't forgive you for constantly showing up and harming my friends! I am Sailor Cosmos, the Champion of Love and Justice! In the name of the moon, I will punish you!"

"Oh, just cut it out with the hero declarations!" Ei-he spat angrily, "Shima the Raggae Master! Get rid of this Sailor Cosmos once and for all!"

Ei-he escaped through the portal he opened and left Sailor Cosmos facing a Melos who was dark-skinned, had long hair dreads, and wore flashy red sunglasses.

"Awight! Let me play my reggae beats for ya, gal!"

* * *

><p>Rei, Mina, Lita, and Ami followed Naomi as she was told to run to safety and help other civilians escape. But after Naomi arrived at her mother's house Rei told the younger girl that she and the others would help Ty out, so they hid behind the wall of a random house and transformed, then returned to the fight to see that their side was losing.<p>

Sly caught the last Rang he threw and was tackled to the ground.

"Sly!"

Ty noticed his brother being outnumbered and rushed over to try and knock his attackers back. When his Boomerangs rammed into each Undifferentiated Daimon, it gave damage but didn't stop the newer ones who kept pouring from out of the ground. Matters were made worse as these foes multiplied whenever they combined with their own comrades.

"Bro!"

Maybe these monsters were a considerably large threat, but Sly wouldn't let them kill his brother. The dark-furred hero kicked one of the Daimons directly in front of him then threw his Doomerangs at those who were around Ty.

From the looks of things, Shazza had an easier time shooting her opponents down as if they were enemies someone shoots to collect points from a zombie video game. Though of course, she felt one Daimon tackle her from behind and send her down face-first. Her gun fell out of her hands and she found a lot more pinkish-red globs approaching her to lay the final blow. Ty's Goldenrangs raced towards the scene and utterly obliterated all of them. "Thanks, Possum!"

Ty watched his girlfriend retrieve her weapon from the ground and come over to him and Sly. Ridge was in another part of the battlefield handling all the Daimons who tried overcoming him with brute force. Today was the best day that his Ultrarangs became useful.

"MARS, FIRE, IGNITE!"

Quickly, from out of nowhere, everyone saw a blast of fire rush at Ty and Sly's enemies and burn them to the ground. They looked in the direction it came from and saw four human girls in uniforms that reminded them of Cosmos's.

"You beauty!" Ty turned to Mars, "We could use some help from you four right about now!"

"Sure!"

The once beautiful Lake Burramudgee Fountain was in the center of four intersecting roads, so Mars, Venus, Mercury and Jupiter each picked a road and went to stand in the middle of them.

"JUPITER, CRYSTAL POWER!"

"MERCURY, CRYSTAL, POWER!"

"VENUS, CRYSTAL, POWER!"

"MARS, CRYSTAL, POWER!"

Each Sailor Scout raised their arms, closed their eyes, and focused their energies to form colored auras around their bodies. Colored beams shot from their arms and could block anyone from passing through. These beams eventually formed barriers and so no Undifferentiated Daimons would be able to break past them and harm anymore civilians. Different teams of the Undifferentiated Daimons tried to push up against the Sailor Scouts' shields, but they ended up crashing into them and dying.

Ty and his mates were faring better with their challengers since the Sailor Scouts came and brought encouragement by saying they would help them. Shazza could look at all the intersecting streets and find one of the Sailor Scouts keeping their glowing barriers up for those villainous globs to not pass it. Though the Dingo wouldn't have anymore time to spare as it was time to fire another laser from her gun.


	9. Chapter 9

**Edited: 10/4/14**

**Maurie's Self Reflection! Shima the Reggae Master! PART TWO**

Shima started playing his pair of drums to create an exotic reggae rhythm that only he would understand. As Cosmos heard it, the sounds and beats made her think of sunny and tropical island paradises. She would probably hear this same kind of music if she ever visited one of those places.

Strangely, magical musical notes flew from out of Shima's drums at Cosmos like a pirate's cannons from his ship. The Sailor Scout swayed and sidestepped to evade each one while trying to think of a way to counter-attack, but she heard a group of animal roars and turned around to find three Reggae Lions walking up to her with carnivorous sharp teeth. The more Shima played on his drums, the more these glorious maned mammals snarled and drew closer to their victim.

"Uhh... nice kitties... j-just go ahead and stay where you are," Cosmos slowly took steps away from these Reggae Lions.

Like an erupting volcano, she let out a scream as the trio decided to take charge and tackle her, though they fell on top of each other because she got away in time and ran her fastest to escape. Cosmos didn't wish to scurry away from the unconscious Maurie like this.

Shima's Lions shook the entire area with their roars again and had Cosmos dashing down the street like Sonic the Hedgehog. They caused her to groan from the ache that developed in her side because she hadn't ran like this ever since P.E. in high school and her muscles hadn't been used often enough. These lions were giving her a serious workout.

"Sailor Moon!"

"Luna?"

Cosmos's eyes became so huge as this alerting, important female voice rang through her ears. She looked up ahead and found an all too familiar talking cat. They stood out so boldly from the white poked fence they were in front of like how the sun hangs in the sky. Were Cosmos's eyes deceiving her?

"Sailor Moon! Don't let those silly-looking lions run you away from this battle! Just because the others aren't here doesn't mean you surrender and give up."

This peculiar cat, Luna, performed a back flip and caused a pink stick that was topped with a crescent moon to appear. As it fell to the ground, Cosmos instantly recognized it.

"Use this Moon Stick to change those lions back to normal."

A speechless and touched Cosmos nodded then did as she was told. If the female heroine didn't know any better, she would say that this battle felt like the very first one she experienced when she was only 14 and wasn't anywhere near the person she was today. Back then, Cosmos dealt with a Youma named Morga who'd been sent to drain women's energy inside the OsaP Jewellers back in Tokyo. She didn't know how to defeat Morga and felt no choice but to start panicking... but Luna encouraged her be brave.

"MOON... HEALING... ESCALATION!"

Cosmos waved the Moon Stick around her body to draw a circle until the whole shape was drawn and awesome rays of light emitted from it and touched the Reggae Lions. Their red, green, and yellow bodies reverted back to the original golden-yellows that all big cats were known to be born with. Not so much of darkness or the responsibility of serving Shima lurked in their eyes, and now they were normal lions.

Noticing that his triplet of pets were now average lions, simple jungle animals, Shima stopped playing his song and moved his hands away from his bongo drums. "This be a big badderation yah've made here. Ya'll pay for what yah've done to my pets with your crazy guzoo."

Shima moved into a defensive stance when he saw the lions start walking towards him. They snarled and cast threatening glares that were powered not by his evil wishes, but by revenge and justified anger.

"We'll see about that!" Luna turned her sights to Cosmos, "There's new special item I must give you, Sailor Moon. It's called the Cosmos Compass."

Before her very eyes, Cosmos watched Luna do her same flip to present to her an item that she could use for combat purposes. What appeared in front of her was a white compass adorned with angel wings and beautiful jewels in the middle. It was so lovely!

"Spin the Cosmos Compass Needle and yell out, Cosmos Lovely Perception."

"Okay!"

Cosmos took her new possession into her hands and happily examined it. When the teenager thought about it, it was pretty enough to use as a real compass.

By now, Shima's former pets were even closer. He decided to extend his dreadlocks and bind the ferocious beasts up so they couldn't go all out and attack him. However meanwhile...

"COSMOS... LOVELY..." The needle on Cosmos's compass spun around oh so very fast. She raised it above her head then twirled her body around in a full 360 degree circle. "... PERCEPTION!" And that was when the Sailor Scout pointed the Cosmos Compass at Shima and sent silver balls of energy his way; interestingly enough, the Cosmos Compass Needle also faced Shima as if were programmed to tell the silver balls which way to go.

"EVERYTHING COOK AND CURRY! EXIT STAGE LEFT!" Shima cried out his last scream before changing into that form that all the Meloses before him turned into. And like that, he shattered.

...

...

"You did it, Sailor Moon!" Luna turned her cat-eyes to the girl.

"Yeah, but you were a big help too, Luna! By the way, how did you get here?" Cosmos was so curious to know the answer to this question but her furry pet started fading away as if she were some kind of ghost or hologram. "Luna? Luna!" Cosmos outstretched her hand but Luna never gave a response. She was gone.

While Cosmos wasn't looking, Ei-he reappeared and played a tune on his flute that let him hurl a giant boulder her way. The distracted Sailor Scout gasped as she ended up not having to move because it came to a sudden halt and landed in front of her. "Huh?"

She saw a gravely injured Ei-he disappear because someone besides her unleashed mysterious surprise attacks on him and impeded him from harming her. Cosmos could looked just about in every direction until her eyes fell on one of the couples she'd grown to respect so much since her stay here in Southern Rivers. "Bri! Di!"

"G'day! We've been meaning to thank you for how you saved both of us from that kid those two times," Bri spoke to Cosmos with sincerity in his voice, "But for now, our sons need your help over where the town fountain used to be. Strange red blob monsters are on the loose."

Cosmos nodded and would follow Ty and Sly's parents to where they were hurriedly leading her. But first, the angelic hero needed to return Maurie's Essence Aura to his body.

* * *

><p>After Ty's Goldenrangs came back to him for like the fiftieth time, it was even more that he realized this fight against these Daimons was going to stay endless unless the heroes found a way to destroy all of them at once, or vice versa. "No! This isn't over just yet!"<p>

Southern Rivers's legendary hero gathered more courage and struck his enemies down with the blinding light of his Goldenrangs.

Sly, Ridge, and Shazza all seemed to improve with their combat strategies as well since they remembered the Sailor Scouts made barriers to protect their precious town. Bush Rescue wouldn't let these pinkish-red blobs win this battle.

With all the time that passed, the Sailor Scouts' shields were losing power; with how much the Daimons had increased in their numbers, Sailor Cosmos's team mates wouldn't be able to hold them off for much longer. Though just as these monsters were about to give the last blow and make their shields disappear, a blast of silver spheres came from out of nowhere and vaporized them.

Mars, Venus, Mercury, and Jupiter all shot their heads up and saw their winged leader land near the water fountain's remains. They were almost at their limits, but now found more power from their Sailor Crystals to strengthen their magic walls because Cosmos was here now.

"Bonza!" Ty exclaimed at Cosmos's arrival.

She sent the Tasmanian Tiger a sweet smile then put her attention back on the Cosmos Compass. "COSMOS... LOVELY... PERCEPTION!"

Soon, all square feet of the battlefield was covered in Cosmos's brand new attack. The other heroes watched every Daimon around them be affected and disappear in utter defeat. Now they were surrounded by puddles of gooey ooze and always heard the still rushing sound of water from the water fountain damaged pipe.

...

...

Ty, Sly, Shazza, Ridge, Dennis, Maurie, and Sgt. Bluey all stood in front of what was left of their town's beloved sculpture to converse about it. It was a shame that this magnificent structure had to be destroyed like this. Now Serena and the others wouldn't have their new hangout spot!

"Oh dear! This is not good in the slightest!" came Dennis's high-pitched voice, "I had actually taken a liking to this fountain, and now it's been blown to pieces thanks to those horrid pink globby things!"

"Well better that then the rest of town, dont'cha think, Dennis? You can pay to have this water fountain repaired no problem," Maurie explained to the filthy rich mayor.

"That same enemy we're up against dropped another Fake Thunder Egg in the fountain's pool when it was here. They're the ones responsible for destroying it," Sly pointed out, "And that same angel and her four mates disappeared suddenly after they helped us destroy those pink globs."

"I reckon' it's time for us to finally uncover all of their identities," Ridge agreed Sly.

"Do you think you'd be able to help us out with that, Sergeant Bluey? I think we're gonna need all the help we can get," Ty asked the koala officer.

"Sure, Ty! I'll have my subordinates and detectives look into the situation as soon as possible."

"Grouse! Hey, Maurie. Is Serena feeling any better?"

"Oh, she's just about as refreshed as ever, Ty! But earlier some delinquent came by and after that I'm not sure where the sheila went."

"Maybe she ran off to go and find help," Shazza suggested, "I'll ask my mum if she happened to see her." Shazza said bye to everyone and walked away to head for home, which in turn caused Ty to say, "The rest of us should call it a day too."

* * *

><p>When Ei-he was furious for failing his mission this time, the Lost Chord didn't take his anger out on the keyboard, but he might as well have since he caused more noise without it. "I've had it! How come all of my missions turn into failure? That Silver Essence Aura has to be out there somewhere! All of my attempts have helped me none in the end! I don't get it!"<p>

"Well!" Ei-ni didn't have much to say as she was also annoyed with how her plan turned out. "Now this means _I_ can't use that same plan. Those Sailor Scouts and furries are really starting to get on my last nerve!"

"Ei-he." Ei-to welcomed himself into the backstage area with his same calm tone. "It's showtime."

He watched his younger brother give a frustrated sigh and brush past him to report to the stage where he would meet with Virtuoso and see how the director of the Doom Theater felt about his history of failures.

* * *

><p>"So... from what I've seen, your performance has been horrible. You never found the special object that I asked for and you haven't gotten rid of the pests who always seem to interfere. How am I supposed to feel about that?"<p>

"Maestro Virtuoso! If you've watched me this whole time then you should know it wasn't my fault. I tried looking for that special thing you want. The targets your wheel showed me just... didn't turn out to be the right targets."

"Even if the Doom Wheel doesn't necessarily show you the possessor of the Silver Essence Aura right away, that's no reason for you to not take care of those who keep stopping you. I've given you Lost Chords all the instruments and tunes you need."

"Maestro Virtuoso, please! Give me one more chance! I promise, if you let me spin the Doom Wheel and make another plan, I'll set things straight!"

How much Ei-he begged for another chance didn't seem to sit well with his master in the end; the Doom Musician still raised his baton above his head and changed Ei-he back into a musical note for him to return to a specific line on a neatly written music sheet.

"Ei-he!" Ei-ni cried out her dear little brother's name. In probably the most fluid and swiftest motion yet, she and Ei-to watched their sibling be stripped of his freedoms, deprived of his humanity, and and go back inside Virtuoso's song book. This master had never said anything about putting anyone who failed to do the job back inside his book. "Maestro Virtuoso!"

"What? Are you surprised to see your precious little brother back inside my song book? How else would he suffer the consequences of not doing what was asked of him?"

"You said you needed help running this theater!"

"Well no facility makes good business if it has members who don't do their part, now does it, sweetheart? Sadly, your little brother was one of those people. Curtain call!" Virtuoso yelled out this phrase for the curtains to close and end his heated confrontation with the remaining Lost Chords.

* * *

><p>Later on, when the sun was perched on the horizon, Ty, Shazza, Sly, Naomi, Ridge, Betty, Duncan, Ranger Ken, Serena, Rei, Ami, Lita, and Mina were all down in Bridge On The River Ty. This part of Southern Rivers wasn't like the Lake Burramudgee Fountain, but at night time fireflies came out and the sky with its dozens of stars looked absolutely fantastic. Now while these friends were conversing amongst each other, Bri and Maurie watched the youngsters from one of wooden bridges that hung above the dark blue waters.<p>

"I'm absolutely proud of Ty! He's saved Southern Rivers so many times, and he's a loyal and true friend til' the end," Maurie told Bri.

"You're right about that, Maurie. Him and Sly both make me proud. I couldn't have asked for better sons." After Bri made this comment, he heard someone appear behind him and Maurie. "G'day, Julius! It's been a while since any of us saw you today."

"Yeah. Just what have you been up to in that lab of yours, Julius?" asked Maurie.

"I think I've discovered why Serena got shocked when she touched one of our Light Thunder Eggs a few days ago. Basically, the Light Thunder Egg interfered with the internal electricity generated from her nervous system and served as a capacitor for all of the static electricity stored up in her body."

"You mean she had more of a charge stored inside her body than that Thunder Egg? That's impossible."

"It sounds to me like you're saying Serena generates more electricity than that Thunder Egg, Julius," Bri gave his honest opinion.

"That _is_ what I'm saying. The Light Thunder Eggs were unused before we found them, so the charge inside her body reacted to its electromagnetic radiation. It's safe to say that Serena has more electrons in her body and Light Thunder Eggs carry less."

"Opposite charges are always attracted to each other when that happens." Maurie put a feathery hand to chin and started thinking, "Thanks to that little science lesson you just gave us, now we know how to explain it to those blokes over there."

"Actually, Maurie, I'm not sure if we should mention anything about this so soon. There's still the situation of how Serena carries a stronger charge than a Thunder Egg. It goes beyond everything in science."

"Well, we're sure you'll find an explanation soon enough," Bri gave a thumbs up.

This father looked down and saw Betty waving for him to come down and meet Duncan for the second time ever.


	10. Chapter 10

**Edited: 10/11/14**

**Ami's Medical Internship! Rappu the Beat DJ! PART ONE**

Since the Lake Burramudgee Water Fountain was destroyed and everyone started visiting Bridge On The River Ty more often, this area became their new official hangout spot. Serena, Rei, Lita, and Mina could be seen here while Bush Rescue was out to carry out another rescue mission. No one was sure why Ami wasn't present until Rei told them the blue-haired genius got accepted into Bush Rescue's Medical Internship, and today was its first meeting day.

"What? They have a medical internship? That's a great idea for Ami!" Serena replied excitedly, "If she's going to be a doctor someday, then attending something for her field would be perfect for her."

"How often will we get to see her? Are internships like high school all over again?" asked Lita.

"Yes, something like that. But I'm sure Ami isn't sad that she won't get to see us that much. Becoming a doctor has been her dream before any of us met her, so we should do everything we can to support her."

Rei saw each of her best friends nod to this kind suggestion, then the raven-haired girl spotted a familiar female Dingo approaching their circle.

"Hello, dearies! I was wondering if you would all like to help me prepare for a parent-teacher meeting that's going to be held at Lake Burramudgee High School today. My friend, Sheila, lost some of her students again earlier so that took up most of our time."

"Sure, we'll help out!" Serena smiled at Maureen sweetly.

"Oh, thank you, pumpkin. You girls are all so kind."

* * *

><p>As Rei had explained to her friends earlier, Ami was in Bush Rescue's Medical Clinic tending to different Bush Rescue Members since their mission today had more danger and combat than they expected. Ty was the last hero to be bandaged up before he was allowed to leave; Ami wrapped white cloth bandages around the marsupial's forehead and told him to be more careful on his next adventure.<p>

"No worries!" Ty made a thumbs up then hopped down from the bed and looked at Bush Rescue's newest intern. "You just keep coming here to this medical internship that Dennis has funded and I'm sure you'll become a great doctor someday!"

"Thanks, Ty! I'll do my best to work towards that dream!"

* * *

><p>As one would see Ami's pretty face with her blue hair, Ei-ni saw the same image as it was her face the Doom Wheel landed on. Maybe Ei-ni was overthinking, but it seemed to her that the Doom Wheel gave the Lost Chords mostly females who were prettier than her.<p>

"Hmph."

A jealous Ei-ni looked over her shoulder as she heard Ei-to come backstage to where she was. The atmosphere felt so unreal without the loud, animated Ei-he at her side.

"So I see you've spun the Doom Wheel just now," Ei-to walked up to Ei-ni as she fully turned towards him.

"Yes. Just before you showed up."

"Who does it say our next target is?" Rather than receive his answer with a verbal response, Ei-to saw it when his sister stepped to the side. "Oh. Another girl."

"I wonder if Ei-he was right about this wheel having a mind of its own. It keeps giving us girls and talking animals."

"Well, the town that Maestro Virtuoso set this theater close to has nothing but those two types of creatures. It can't be helped, and besides, if he truly didn't believe the holder of the Silver Essence Aura was there, then he would've went elsewhere."

"So that means I shouldn't worry about if our target happens to be another girl."

"Precisely."

Ei-ni shifted her eyes to Ami's face on the Doom Wheel again. She didn't like that girl. "Because I'll make sure to eliminate her and any of the other girls who stand in our way."

Ei-to let out a sigh that was so silent his ignorant sibling didn't hear it. Watching this Lost Chord search for the Silver Essence Aura with her heated personality was going to be interesting...

* * *

><p>"Thank you again, girls!" Maureen looked around at how wonderful and organized the girls decorated the classroom. "Parents are going to feel so comfortable when they step foot in this room. Who was it who laid out the drinks and finger snacks over there by that window?"<p>

"That was me," answered Lita.

"Nice touch! I especially love how someone thought it best to hang these red ribbons along the walls."

"That was all me, Maureen," Mina confirmed, "My love for shopping helped give me this secret interest in interior decorating, so I just thought your classroom would look nice with a few extra ribbons."

"Well, I really do appreciate it! You girls are free to leave now and I'll let you know when I need your help again. Toodle-oo!"

Rei pushed the door open and let Serena, Mina, Lita, and herself out the classroom to enter a hallway full of metal green lockers. The task of helping Maureen decorate for the parent-teacher meeting made them each think of their years in high school. Serena, Mina, Rei, and Lita all started having different memories of Juuban Municipal High School and even the middle schools they'd attended a few years before that; there were too many flashbacks and stories many to speak on, let alone count.

"Hi!"

After stepping out into the day's warm sunshine and starting down the sidewalk, the girls discovered a teenage bat smiling at them. She had purple wings and long, pointy, peach-colored ears.

"My name's Shade! Ty told me that all of you came here from Azabu Juuban, Tokyo. It's really nice to have you here in Lake Burramudgee."

"Aww, thank you! I'm Mina, and these are my friends Serena, Lita, and Rei. We're happy to be here! How did you meet Ty?"

"Well... him and my mom used to be enemies back in the old days. My mom went a bit batty, but she's better now... I saw Ty during the Quinkan Invasion and told him I'd be happy to help him out in order to make up for my mom's actions. We used to live in Cassopolis, but after Boss Cass tried destroying the world with his plan, Chicxulub II, my mom saw that he went a bit cuckoo and so we moved here."

"That bird-brain tried to destroy the whole world? What a lunatic!" Serena replied to Shade's story.

"It's a good thing that he's stuck frozen on his island resort and not back here plotting any more outrageous schemes," added Rei, "Enough about him. What have you been up to since you and your mom moved here?"

"My mom said now that I'm 18, I could ask Ty if I can join their Bush Rescue Training Program. Being a recruit for Bush Rescue is the least I can do to show how much my mom and I want to get along with everyone."

"Then go for it! I'm sure you'll be a great addition to the team," Lita told Shade and watched the bat give a confident head nod, "My friends and I have to go now. It was nice meeting you, Shade."

"Same to all of you! Bye!"

* * *

><p>For the first day of her internship, Ami was let out of class pretty early. All she'd done was help tend to Bush Rescue's injuries since their mission from earlier involved fighting tricky monsters and going through violent obstacles, so now she was walking away from the Bush Rescue HQ to meet her friends in front of Bri and Di's Rang Shop.<p>

"I gotta' hand it to you, Ami. You really have a passion for the medical field. Bush Rescue didn't have any nurses or doctors until Dennis realized Bush Rescue needs a medical clinic."

"Well, it's been my dream to become a doctor because that was what I always admired about my mother. It's been her dream to become a doctor ever since she was my age, and now she finally has that career."

"Like mother, like daughter."

"Ooh! I see a Thunder Egg!"

Maurie and Ami's conversation was cut short as they heard Dennis happily exclaim at what he'd pointed out to be another Thunder Egg. The Cockatoo and human looked and watched Dennis reach his frog hands out for what was obviously a Fake Thunder Egg at the foot of a tree.

"Dennis the Cheapskate!" Hurriedly, Maurie flew to Dennis's side and stopped the Green Tree Frog from touching his discovery. "I wouldn't touch that Thunder Egg if I were you."

"Why not, Maurie?" Dennis stood up with his long frog legs.

"Can't you see that it's not the real thing? Someone who's obsessed with these volcanic beauties as much you are should be able to tell the difference."

"Are you implying that I can't tell the difference between a real Thunder Egg and a Fake Thunder Egg?" Dennis looked to Ami as if she were about to say something.

"Well if the shoe fits."

"How about if I just take a quick peek? It'll only take three seconds, pretty please?"

"No way! Me and the sheila here aren't going to let you touch that Fake Thunder Egg so it can go kaboomie!"

"What? You're saying this Thunder Egg will explode if I touch it? I don't believe I've discovered Thunder Eggs like that yet... well, since you say it's not safe for me to have, I guess I will just have to leave it alone. What? Why are you both staring at me like that?"

"You think we don't know you by now, Dennis? You'll reach for that Thunder Egg the minute our backs are turned."

"Maurie, I'm hurt that you would think I'd do something that low. I thought we were friends."

"Friends or not, I'm just stating the facts. Now get away from that Thunder Egg!"

"Fine, fine, I'll do as you say. Don't go blaming me if it turns out to be the real thing and somebody else gets their hands on it."

After finding himself defeated and unable to have the Fake Thunder Egg, Dennis went away from it and followed Ami and Maurie. Then just moments later, everyone suddenly flew forwards and tumbled to the ground because of the very thing they tried to avoid.

"Yikes!" Dennis ducked and covered his head like a frightened little kid, "Whoever it was that caused that explosion just now, please don't hurt me!"

Maurie and Ami rose from the ground and found a suspicious silhouette of a girl standing in the explosion's smoke. Once it faded away, the heroes got a good look of her sparkly attire and dark red hair. Just who was she supposed to be?

"Another delinquent! Strike me unlucky!" came Maurie's fussy voice.

"Hmph! You think _you're_ the unlucky one here? You losers didn't fall for that Fake Thunder Egg!" Ei-ni snapped at Maurie.

"_Fake_... Thunder Egg?" Dennis didn't want to believe what he was hearing. The reality of Ei-ni's statement overwhelmed the aristocrat so much that he lost consciousness and fainted.

"Dennis!" Maurie rushed over to his friend's side, and after staring at him for a few seconds realized the frog wouldn't be waking up for a while.

"Who are you and what are you after?" Ami turned to their newest guest with an angry frown.

"Like I'd ever tell you that!" Ei-ni revealed a pink microphone and started uttering the Solfege Syllables with her villainous but beautiful voice. "Do, re, mi... fa, so la, ti-do!"

For some precious time, the atmosphere was tense. Then it all changed as a musical sheet manifested around Ami and wrapped around her so tightly. All she could do was twist and squirm until Ei-ni snapped her fingers, and everything went dark.


	11. Chapter 11

**Edited: 10/11/14**

**Ami's Medical Internship! Rappu the Beat DJ! PART TWO**

Like Maurie assured Dennis the other day, a team of koala construction workers were seen replacing the Lake Burramudgee Water Fountain with a better one and newer pipes. Serena and her friends happened to walk past this laborious activity while on their way from helping Maureen decorate Sheila's classroom for the special parent-teacher meeting. Ty had come from the opposite direction after having Ami wrap bandages on his head injury.

"G'day, mates! Where are you all off to?" Ty waved hello.

"We wanted to meet up with Ami outside Bush Rescue HQ," explained Serena, "Would you know if her internship is over yet?"

"Yeah, it should be over by now. Today her assignment was to help tend to the wounds of me and some of the others after we finished our mission."

"Then I wonder if something else came up," came Mina's voice with its worried tone, "It's not like her to go anywhere without telling anyone."

"No worries! I'll go and see what the hold up is. Just leave it to me!" Ty pointed at himself with his gloved thumb.

This Tasmanian Tiger took off with his furry feet leaving footprints in the dirt, and 20 minutes later he reached Bush Rescue's headquarters and was appalled at the scene he saw.

"Just our luck!" Maurie stated at Ty's much-needed arrival, "Ty, another one of these delinquents has taken another Essence Aura. And this time it's _Ami's!_"

Ty's anger immediately flared up as he looked over at Ei-ni. He balled up his fists and his body shook as if he were about to explode.

"Yeah? What's your orange-rat-friend over there going to do about it?" Ei-ni retorted, "Unfortunately, this isn't the Essence Aura I'm looking for, but I'll still make sure to have this girl destroyed. Rappu the Beat DJ!"

Already ready for battle, Ty brought out his Rangs and together he and Maurie watched a Melos come from a portal of out the ground and make their entrance.

"Play your beats for this crowd, then make sure to get rid of them! Especially the girl!" Ei-ni escaped through her own portal and left her animal foes to face a Melos who was all about hip hop, obviously by the clothes they wore, they way they walked, and the way they talked.

"Yo yo yo! Rappu in the house! You animals want a show? Well it goes a little somethin' like this!"

Rappu clapped his hands and all of a sudden black boom boxes with a DJ music mixer appeared. He put his hand on the turntable and scratched its vinyl record to create a rap instrumental with all kinds of mixed beat sounds.

Neither Ty or Maurie was sure if they knew what kind of music this was supposed to be, but Dennis woke up and was not the least bit pleased with it. "What is that atrocious noise? Whoever is making that awful scratching sound has bad taste!"

"Hey!" an offended Rappu looked in Dennis's direction, "My beats are tight! You better go on and hop somewhere, Frog Legs!"

"Eeuurrgh!" Sadly, but not to anyone's surprise, Dennis ran away as he'd been scared again.

"You big scaredy-frog!" Maurie returned his attention to Ty" Ty, I hope you've got a plan to take care of this bloke here."

"You bet, Maurie!"

Soon enough, Ty easily destroyed Rappu's DJ music mixer with his Boomerangs.

"Not cool!" As Rappu stood in the midst of his destroyed music equipment, an angry vein popped up on his head. "You ain't about to just shut down my performance like this, know what I'm sayin'?" Maybe Rappu was down, but he wasn't out for the count as he commanded plastic film to unravel from inside the remains of his turntable and rush towards Ty like an army of poisonous snakes.

"This has become a game of tag." Maurie watched Ty take off and dart away from the plastic film as each strip chased him back and forth across the battlefield.

The Tasmanian Tiger ran in one direction but found himself changing turns until all the possible corners to escape through became blocked by more of that same plastic film from inside cassette tape reels. The best way to describe this scene would be to say that he was surrounded by strands and strands of dark brown vinyl tape. Tearing them to shreds seemed like the best way to go, but Ty realized that was a mistake. His first Rang got entangled in the plastic film and now other strings of vinyl tape took hold of him to wrap him up like a present. He tried pulling his other arm free to attack with his other Rang, but the hero had no success.

Soon, Maurie noticed Rappu send more of that plastic film in his direction. "Oi! You're not wrapping me up in that stuff!" Maurie wasn't agile and swift like in the good ole' days, but the Cockatoo still dodged and soared out of Rappu's reach as fast as his aged wings let him. He didn't pay attention to the plastic film he was approaching up ahead.

...

...

"This is what I call a load of bull dust! Now we're both stuck!"

Maurie, who'd been set next to Ty, watched Rappu bring out a pack of compact discs. Just what did the Melos think to use something like those for?

"Yo, check this out! You fools decided to break my DJ music mixer, so instead of _hearin' _my beats I'll let you _feel_ em'! Ya' dig?" Rappu was still furious about losing his favorite music equipment. The Melos started throwing his CDs at Ty and Maurie like they were ninja stars. After a while, marsupial and bird expected one of these CDs to slice the plastic films that was holding them, though apparently the discs were designed to cut through more fleshier things.

"This bloke's gone starkers!" Maurie cried out, "Ty, we've gotta find a way out of this! If you've thought of a plan, then now's the best time to use it!"

"No worries, Maurie! I'll think of something, fast!"

When another CD came by, it almost skinned the fur on Ty's head where Ami had wrapped those bandages earlier. Whatever his idea was, he needed to carry it out soon.

Just when Rappu was close to landing a hit on Maurie and chopping the feathers on his head off, a golden heart rammed into the Melos and electrocuted him.

"You four!" Ty and Maurie exclaimed in unison. Soon, both critters were helped out of Rappu's endless plastic tape and joined the sides of the females that saved them.

"I don't know if your idea of getting out of that tape was asking these sheilas for help, but fair dinkum either way," Maurie said to Ty.

"Thanks for saving us there." Ty looked up at Cosmos, Venus, Mars, and Jupiter with a visible smile. The local hero clenched his teeth together again and set his eyes back on an electrocuted Rappu. "After I'm through with you, you're gonna wish you didn't come down to this side of Coolrangah!"

By now, Dennis emerged from behind the same tree saw that his friends were dealing with that atrocious music lover, meanwhile those mysterious heroines from the other day were also here...

Pssh! Whatever, man!" Rappu ignored his damage given by Venus and found the last ounce of his power.

"Huh?" Cosmos grew puzzled as she and her allies felt a giant, shiny music record appear under their feet.

"Now what's this silly contraption?" Maurie also noticed it but was suddenly thrown down as the record started spinning fast like a merry go-round.

"Aaahhh! Ty! You must find a way to get us off of this! If we stay on any longer, I'm afraid I might hurl!" Dennis approached the Tasmanian Tiger and clutched onto him as his stomach became upset and wanted to spit up whatever he ate for brunch.

"No worries, Dennis!"

Ty failed at putting on a real smile to assure Dennis. Being stuck on a spinning ride with a mess to clean up was the least of the Tasmanian Tiger's wants. He looked and found Rappu standing outside this music record with his arms folded. Unfortunately no one could seem to figure out how to get off this crazy object. Its speed picked up and rotated so much faster that when it stopped everyone was busy being dizzy.

Rappu seized this moment to take another pack of CDs. His enemies would be too unguarded to evade this time.

Ty shook his head to wake himself up and felt a razor sharp disc leave a small scar on his right arm. "Big mistake!" With his pearly white choppers clenched as they usually were, he ducked and jumped from Rappu's record and lunged towards the Melos without getting harmed by anymore of those evil discs. He whacked Rappu with his Boomerangs and ended the rapid onslaught of the record that kept spinning his friends around. They each sighed and moaned from so much dizziness; Dennis was sure that if they would've been stuck on it for another minute longer, there would be a mess to clean up.

Rappu wasn't ready to give in to this orange rat just yet, though he forgot about the other heroes who came with him and discovered one of them preparing their special attack.

"COSMOS... LOVELY... PERCEPTION!"

And that was all Rappu remembered before feeling those white spheres destroy and revert him to his original CD form; how ironic it was, to be turned into the very thing that he'd used as a weapon. "EXIT STAGE LEFT!"

...

...

A confused but relieved Dennis looked around at all the strips of plastic film and shattered discs that littered Bush Rescue HQ's main entrance. "Oh, how wonderful! That awful musician and his distasteful music are both gone! Thank you for rescuing us, Ty!"

Ty gave Dennis a smile and understanding nod. His main focus was on these Sailor Scouts who kept showing up at the beginning and ending of different battles and never sticking around for long. "Hey, you four! I've got a question that my mates and I have been meaning to ask. Who are you?"

"... well, my name's..." Cosmos hadn't exactly prepared an explanation for this, but something she remembered back during one of her fights with the Negaverse clicked in her head, and by thanks of fate, she answered who she was, and also introduced the allies who came with her. "I am Sailor Cosmos, and these are my friends, Sailor Mars, Sailor Jupiter, and Sailor Venus. Together, we are the Sailor Scouts."

"Ripper! Maybe we should team up to stop these bad guys more often since we seem to keep bumping into each other."

With the Doom Theater's plans formed but foiled by the Sailor Scouts and Bush Rescue again, everyone surrounded the unconscious Ami and watched Cosmos touch her with the restorative Cosmos Wand. Watery ripples seeped from underneath Ami's body as if she were the drop of water falling into an open lake. She made a low moan then started opening her eyes to see so many familiar faces towering over hers. "Sailor Cosmos... Ty... thank you all for rescuing me."

"Don't mention it."

Ty gave a thumbs up bur felt Dennis almost knock him down while brushing past him to approach Cosmos and the other Sailor Scouts with his hands clasped together.

"You girls are clearly natural-born fighters! I would recommend you all join Bush Rescue as our newest recruits! We could use more heroes like you!"

"Uhh..."

"Wait a moment! I know what will make you change your mind!" Dennis revealed four Light Thunder Eggs to give to each Sailor Scout if necessary. "If you sign up for the Bush Rescue Training Program, I'll even throw in four Light Thunder Eggs, one for each of you to have! What do you girls say?"

The Sailor Scouts nervously looked to Maurie and Ty who they could tell didn't expect Dennis to insist they form an alliance like this. It was so sudden and out of the blue!

"Well?" Dennis asked anxiously.

"Umm... w-we're self-employed," Cosmos managed to say through fidgety lips.

"Oh..." Dennis's face lost that excited shine that it'd seemed to have just seconds ago. "Well, if you ever decide to change your mind, just give us a call."

* * *

><p>Later on in the starry cool evening, Serena and the other girls arrived at Bri and Di's house where this couple was with Ty and Sly; Betty was working overtime at her theme park and couldn't make it. So, they sat down for dinner and had casual conversations like any friends would, until the room became so silent and Di stated some important things.<p>

"Boys. Girls. There's a special favor that Bri and I have for all of you."

"What is it, mum?" Sly asked.

"Your sister Betty hasn't been acting like herself lately. Your mum and I think it has something to do with her boyfriend, Duncan, because every time one of us mentions him, she get quiet and changes the subject," Bri explained to everyone, "So we were hoping that all of you to visit her park after it's finished being remodeled and check on her."

"No worries, Dad" Ty and Sly replied in unison.

"We'd be glad to help out, Bri and Di," came Serena's voice, "When will Betty's theme park be reopened?"

"The day after tomorrow." Di set her utensils down as she finished eating and started gathering everyone's dishes to put in the hot soapy dishwater she'd just made. "Thank you girls for coming over here for dinner tonight! Feel free to come over again whenever you want."

"Your welcome," Serena, Ami, Lita, Rei, and Mina all replied.

* * *

><p>"So, it seems you weren't able to take care of our enemies and find the Silver Essence Aura like you'd hoped."<p>

"Obviously not," Ei-ni retorted to Ei-to flatly, "I can't mess up like Ei-he did. If we don't find that Silver Essence Aura soon, Maestro Virtuoso will place us back inside his songbook too..."

"Honestly, I didn't expect him to turn Ei-he back into a musical note. Finding this Silver Essence Aura means everything to him, even if it means getting rid of the servants who fail to do what he says."

"What a heartless jerk!" Ei-ni grabbed hold of the lever on the Doom Wheel and watched it spin speedily like it usually did. She hoped, hoped so much that it landed on the owner of the Silver Essence Aura so that she and her brother could finally get their hands on it and become stars. At this point, the Lost Chords didn't care who the Silver Essence Aura's owner was. They just wanted to find the stupid object and call it a day.

The Doom Wheel stopped and landed on a dark-furred animal with icy blue eyes.


	12. Chapter 12

**Edited: 10/15/14**

**Sly's Dark Past! O-kesutora the Symphony Prince! PART ONE**

This day today would officially make it six years that Sly turned good and became disowned by the cruel Cassowary, Boss Cass. He knew it wasn't best to always think back to the past because it were so far behind him, since he was a different person now.

Instead of being Ty's enemy, this Tasmanian Tiger was his best friend and trusted ally to Southern Rivers's greatest emergency force, Bush Rescue. He'd became a softer and playful character who even vowed to keep Shazza safe if anything were to ever happen to Ty. But, regardless of any of that, Sly found himself looking back to six years ago; another part of him still felt unworthy of forgiveness and of having a second chance at life...

When Sly gave up evil for good and moved to Burramudgee when it still existed, he'd opened up a little shop called, "Sly's Shack," and his parents, or anyone else in that town wasn't judgmental. They knew it wasn't the marsupial's fault that he was tricked into believing they'd abandoned him all those years ago. Ty had helped him see the truth, and now they were all back together as a family... so from that point on, everything was set for smooth sailing.

* * *

><p>In the midst of all the people already in his shop, Sly could hear another customer walk in.<p>

"Hey, Sly," Ridge welcomed himself inside his best friend's business facility, "Looks like you've got yourself a lot of customers today."

"Yeah, no kidding."

Sly was honestly surprised by all the Burramudgee civilians he saw. Only heroes like Ty came to this shop when he needed upgrades for his own set of Rangs, but ever since the appearance of Doom Theater and their mysterious attacks, people started feeling the need to arm themselves with weapons so that they could fight as well.

"I suppose Sgt. Bluey's the one responsible for making all these people paranoid," Ridge said with his dark arms crossed, "Half of 'em don't look like they can put up a fight at all."

"Well I'm not complaining about any of it," Sly cracked a smile, "After they buy some of my Rang upgrades, I'll have enough Opals to finally get the Goldenrangs, the same Rangs that Ty has."

"Nice choice."

Ridge remembered hearing about these newest weapons a short while ago; Ty had been given the very first pair since they were invented by his good ole' friend, Julius, who was thinking of having Bri and Di sell them in their Rang Shop.

After Sly and Ridge's conversation came to a pause, the entrance door to Sly's Shack was opened yet again, but this time they saw a face they recognized.

"Hey, Sly!" Shazza's little sister, Naomi, came up to Sly at his counter and handed him an interesting white envelope.

"What is it?" Sly asked as he studied the item.

"An invitation to my birthday party. You're invited."

...

...

Now nervous to open this birthday invitation that'd been especially for him, Sly shyly ran his fingers through his hair and started wondering about the terms he and Naomi were on. Every time the two of them were near each other, they'd be so overcome with shyness that people assumed it was love like it became for their older siblings, but that wasn't it.

This was the first time the ex-villain had ever been invited to a party. Sly knew Naomi meant well, and he admired her for leaving home to come help Bush Rescue during the Quinkan Invasion.

Naomi admired Sly for turning over a new leaf and sort of following in his little brother's footsteps. Did she happen to think that this Tasmanian Tiger was appealing or attractive though? Maybe.

Sly went on ahead and opened her letter to learn that the Dingo was having her 18th birthday party at her mother's house a few days from now. He answered by saying her birthday party sounded fun and that he would be there.

"Great! I'm glad to hear that you'll be able to make it. Ridge, here's yours..."

Ridge silently took his invitation into his hands and started peeling it open to read the details for himself.

"See you guys there!"

Naomi waved good-bye to both the boys and left Sly's Shack while some of those who bought Rangs seemed to follow after her.

"Ha. If that Tiger, Ty, were here, I'm sure he'd agree with me when I say that girl has the hots for you," Ridge told Sly with a short laugh.

"You take that back, or I'll clobber you!" Sly clenched and put up his fists as his cheeks turned red.

"Ha ha ha. There's no use in denying it, Sly. Everyone saw the way you two talked it up after we defeated the Quinkan and the Quinking some time ago. But I didn't come here to muck around. I have some good news."

"Dennis is giving us all raises?"

"No."

Sly groaned and ran his hands through his hair with disappointment.

"Even better... your parents have decided to take me in as one of their own... so you, me, and Tiger are all brothers."

"What? Are you telling the truth, Ridge?" Sly's shadowy face glowed with the probably the brightest smile one would ever see him make. "Woah... it's gonna take me some time getting used to that. Why did my parents decide to do that?"

"When this town was built to replace New Burramudgee, I told them my reasons for coming here and they saw how well you and I got along. Once the trouble with Boss Cass carrying out that Chicxulub II plan was taken care of, they asked me if I wanted to stay here permanently. Someone's gotta stick around and make sure you and Tiger keep the place safe."

"Hmph," Sly responded with a tiny smile, "Well, welcome to the family, _Bro_."

Sly went over to his new adoptive brother and they exchanged a fist bump. What Ridge had come to talk to him about really was good news.

* * *

><p>Walking through the streets of Lake Burramudgee, Serena, Mina, Rei, and Lita met up with Ty, Shazza, Ridge, and Sly who were on their way to Bri and Di's place. Obviously, Ami was at her medical internship at Bush Rescue HQ, and Naomi was still running around handing out invitations to everyone in town for her upcoming party.<p>

According to Sly, Ridge was now a member of his and Ty's family because their parents had chosen to adopt this freelance maverick. He, deep down, had a kind heart and turned out to be a wonderful friend to Sly and even Ty over time. He could've left Southern Rivers to go off and take on some other kind of assignment for money, but he didn't; Ridge grew to love the life he'd found now and chose to keep it that way.

"I remember you and Tiger having a sister, who's basically also mine now. Where is she?" Ridge asked Sly.

"Betty's busy running her theme park," Sly looked back at Ty and the others with a hint of sadness shading his blue eyes.

"Guess I'll see her later then."

Ridge found himself arriving at his new home and being shown to a comfortably furnished room that was across the way from Sly's. He appreciated being given this and told his new family that he would join them back outside soon, but he wanted to kick back and relax on his new bed for a few minutes, just to have time to think...

The reason Ridge came to Southern Rivers in the first place was to search for his long lost parents. He never knew them and was adopted by an unknown family outside Southern Rivers. By the time he turned 25, the age he is now, he left and came to what had been left of Burramudgee around the time that Ty was trapped in the Dreaming for six months. Ever since then, this serious fighter became a loyal ally to Bush Rescue and resident of what was now Lake Burramudgee.

Through those same six months, he and Sly had developed a companion-like friendship with one another; that was another reason why the freelance maverick couldn't bring himself to leave Southern Rivers, but still, he wondered if this decision of becoming Di and Bri's adoptive son was really the best idea. Ridge never yet informed his actual adoptive parents that he chose to stay here in Lake Burramudgee and not move back out to the quiet suburbs.

While the Tasmanian Wolf stayed with them, he was so set on leaving and finding out the truths that any orphan would want to know, though now he started thinking that _maybe_, just _maybe_ if he wrote these old parental guardians some kind of letter, that could help get some of the stress out his system and comfort them to know that nothing bad had happened to him, and that he still cared about them.

Ridge realized later that this letter business would have to be set aside for another time as he heard someone come in his new room and make themselves welcome. It was Sly. "Long time no see. What brings you back in here?"

"Something's bothering you, I can see it. Tell me what it is and maybe I can help ya' out."

Ridge got up from his bed to sit and let his furry bare feet hang over its edge. "Looks like you've learned how to see through me. If I tell you what's been on my mind you can't go blabbering it to Tiger or the others. Got it?"

"Of course." Sly grabbed a wooden chair from beside Ridge's window and sat on it. He listened to all that his new brother had to say and became sympathetic. "You've got parents who live outside Southern Rivers, and don't know you planned on staying here? You should tell 'em so that they don't get worried and think you don't want nothing to do with them anymore."

"Well, that's easier said than done. I've never had to write any letters to anyone before, as you might've already known."

"How about you ask Julius to create some kind of device that'll let you contact them?"

"That sounds like it's worth a try," Ridge finally got down from the mattress and stood in front of Sly, "For now, I just want to see about getting some good food. Sometimes my stomach can be like an endless pit."

"Well I'll help ya' fill that hole!"

Sly laughed at this attempted joke and heard Ridge join in with his own deep laughter. The brothers left and rejoined with the others back outside to definitely see about getting some food.

* * *

><p>Around the time that Ami's internship ended for the day, all her human and animal friends met her inside Bush Rescue's Cafeteria and had a taste of Sneath's food that they'd always been hearing was so good. Because this Frill's food was so well-cooked and tasty he got promoted to running the Bush Rescue Training Program and Cassopolis Rang Shop at the same time.<p>

Ridge, who mentioned earlier that his stomach was like an endless pit, asked for seconds and developed respect for Sneath after he had more of the Frill's dishes. "Out of all the chefs I've seen, you're definitely one of the best."

"Thanks," Sneath replied with some embarrassment, "I guess cooking's just my natural talent. Hey, that reminds me. Which of you girls was it who I heard is an expert at cooking food?"

"You're talking about Lita. She is a pro at cooking things!" Serena told Sneath with a convincing tone, "Someday she wants to even open up her own bakery."

"Ah..." Sneath placed his eyes back on Lita's and wondered if this teenager had ever cooked for groups of people. "It sounds to me like we should let her try working here in the Bush Rescue Cafeteria and see how she likes it."

"That would be a great idea, Sneath! She probably makes food as good as Bob the Baquette Baker from Boona, and his meals are the real deal," came the voice of Sneath's co-worker, Keith the Goanna.

"Just give us a call when you're ready to take on a job here in this cafeteria," Sneath told Lita.

"Sure..."

Lita didn't seem as enthusiastic about becoming a cook for Bush Rescue as everyone else was for her to be. She excelled mostly in preparing dishes that were American or Japanese because those were foods that she was more familiar with. _Australian_ food was a different story.


	13. Chapter 13

**Edited: 10/15/14**

**Sly's Dark Past! O-kesutora the Symphony Prince! PART TWO**

Now, at this hour, the sun was coming down to a set. Bush Rescue had enough food from the cafeteria, spent some time tracking down stolen artifacts and delivering them to the rightful artifact collectors, and reported back to Bush Rescue HQ to give Dennis a full summary report of their work.

Ridge let out a yawn so needed that he stretched his arms and became almost as tall as Ranger Ken. "I'm beat. Finding and returning all those stolen artifacts was no walk in the park, even for me."

"Yeah, same here. Hey, where did Ty go after all of us went back to headquarters?" Sly asked with a thoughtful tone.

"Isn't he involved with that Bunyip Mechanic, Shazza? I saw them both leave to have another meeting with that elder."

Suddenly, Ridge forgot all about Sly's question as he noticed someone suspicious-looking approach their parents' house. The Tasmanian Wolf narrowed his eyes on this mysterious individual.

"Anyone who comes down here in a black cloak like _that_ can't be trusted," Sly replied.

"I agree."

This figure in the black cloak arrived at Bri's Rang Shop and walked up to the merchant ever so casually like they'd visited it so many times before. Bri didn't feel comfortable about the way this character looked so he put on a friendly smile and approached them with some caution.

"G'day. What kind of Rang is it that you're looking for?"

Quietly, the figure reached their arm out and pointed at a pair of Zappyrangs.

"Alright. That'll be 1000 Opals." Bri waited for this customer to give him their Opals and make their exchange, but he saw them bring out an item that he knew Dennis would get excited over. "A Thunder Egg?" An _Ice_ Thunder Egg at that! "Er... usually, I don't sell Rangs for Thunder Eggs, but it's been forever since I've last seen one of those beauties. Looks like you've got yourself a deal, mate!"

And so, Bri grabbed the Zappyrangs and handed it over the counter before receiving this Ice Thunder Egg and adding it to what would be his first ever Thunder Egg collection.

"Dad!"

Though immediately, his hands froze in the middle of this transaction and the marsupial looked up and saw a familiar pair of younger ones. "G'day, sons! Your mum and I finally have those new Rangs of Julius's in stock. Isn't that great?"

"Yeah..."

Ridge kept his good eye on the cloaked figure and saw that they were about to give his adoptive dad a light-blue Thunder Egg. He'd lived here in Southern Rivers long enough to know that the Lake Burramudgee Rang Shop accepted Opals as cash, so why this person was handing Bri a Thunder Egg was strange. "Huh... I didn't know you and Mum accepted Thunder Eggs as cash, Dad."

"Well... nowadays, it's rare to find these. All this customer here wants is a Zappyrang, so I don't mind trading them for it."

Sly didn't feel that this was the right thing to do. This Tasmanian Tiger stepped forward to try and stop his father from completing his transaction with that cloaked figure before the unexpected happened, but the unforgettable explosion already occurred and so that opportunity to reverse the situation never came.

Bri covered his mouth and still coughed as the smoke from the explosion steadily cleared away. Whatever sort of Thunder Egg that cloaked figure tried to give him destroyed his shop and left it complete shambles. What was going on?

"Who are you?" Bri asked in between more coughs.

With no time to blame himself for not seeing things sooner, the dad noticed the cloaked figure take off their hood and reveal themselves to be a human girl with very dark red hair.

"I am Ei-ni, the female Lost Chord of the Doom Theater! You furries are so naïve when it comes to these Thunder Eggs, but enough yapping." Ei-ni turned around to look for the person she came for, and that was when she found him with his Doomerangs. "There you are! Now we can get this show on the road!"

Sly gripped his Rangs tighter as he watched Ei-ni pull out a microphone and start talking into it like she were on a stage at a concert.

"Do, re, mi... fa, so la, ti-do!"

The magical but usual music sheet appeared to trap Sly, but before it entangled him he threw his weapons at Ei-ni and injured her. The Lost Chord's microphone flew out of her hands and fell to the ground.

"Owww! You're gonna wish you didn't do that!"

Sly probably really should've wished he didn't attack Ei-ni like that; for he soon felt the music sheet wrap around him, and just like that he fainted and collapsed to the floor.

"Son!"

Bri witnessed some kind of whitish energy or aura seep from out of his first son's body and go into Ei-ni's hands. He took his Boomerangs from the shelf behind him and was ready to fight her. Somehow, the old adventurer always knew these standard Rangs would still come in handy, and now was one of those times where he would get to use them again for action and reprove himself.

"This isn't the right one?" Ei-ni groaned and released Sly's Essence Aura after seeing it wasn't the right one, but suddenly yelped in pain as Ridge whacked her with his Ultrarangs and left her side injured. "You'll all pay! O-kesutora the Symphony Prince! Entrance these annoying furries with your classical music!"

Ei-ni threw the Zappyrangs at Ridge and landed direct hits. While he became paralyzed and couldn't move she escaped through a portal she'd created and left all her enemies to deal with this latest Melos.

...

...

When Lake Burramudgee was at its quietest, the ground started rumbling. Different citizens grew confused when this small earthquake came then started panicking when they felt the earth shake harder.

"Calm down, everyone! My men and I will get to the bottom of this!"

Sgt. Bluey tried sounding as assuring as possible but the koala and his colleagues scurried around town feeling fearful themselves. They managed to make sure everyone returned inside their homes and survived until the earthquake decided to vanish.

Sgt. Bluey drove around town for patrolling reasons and the cop ended up in front of the remains; their guesses led them to what was left of someone's Rang Shop. For the strangest reason, after the earthquake stopped, a group of musicians were there in chairs with musical charts and their maestro standing in front of them with a fine musician's baton in his hand.

Naomi had to cover her mouth with her hand as she gasped at the sight of this orchestra symphony, but then something else besides this made her heart flip."Sly!"

Bri had taken his unconscious son into his arms and heard Naomi call their name. He and Ridge looked up and found the Dingo rushing over to them with her eyes fixed on Sly.

"What happened here?"

Naomi came up to Bri and knelt beside him to get a better look at Sly. The Tasmanian Tiger looked drained and lifeless just like his mother had when the Lost Chords sought after her Essence Aura.

_No..._

"Those same bad guys have came and messed with Sly this time," Ridge summarized.

Naomi looked down at Sly again then turned her hurt blue eyes up to O-kesutora. This Melos who turned to them and made a polite bow didn't look like he was evil. If anyone was familiar with the historical musician, Tchaikovsky, then they would look at O-kesutora and have to admit that he looked like a younger version of Tchaikovsky.

Ridge raised his Ultrarangs and threw them directly at O-kesutora, however the maestro had enough speed to knock them down with his baton before even they touched him. How?

Ridge became astonished then gritted his teeth and grew upset at this turn of events. "I reckon this guy has dealt with Rangs once before."

O-kesutora turned to his musicians and they started to play one of the delightful, inspiring songs from Tchaikovsky's famous fantastical piece, the Nutcracker; it started off a bit suspenseful.

Out of all the Melos that Bush Rescue and Sailor Scouts met or would meet later on, this genre in music would be one of the best ones they'd heard.

"Son, this is what you call real music," Bri said to Ridge, looking down at Sly who he'd gently laid on the ground, "Too bad your mum and siblings aren't here to listen to this with us."

Ridge became stunned at the way his adoptive-father said this. He'd obviously fallen under some kind of hypnotic trance as his eyes lost their shine and all he stared at was O-kesutora and the orchestra.

"It's so beautiful..."

"Not you too!"

After seeing the way Naomi clasped her hands together, that's when Ridge realized this orchestra placed some kind of spell on everyone, though it didn't work on him for some reason. Maybe he was putting up a better fight with it.

"Hey!"

Because of this disruptive shout, O-kesutora's had his symphony end their song and Bri, Naomi, and Sgt. Bluey all gave them a round of applause.

Ridge would've kept trying to confront O-kesutora to retrieve his Ultrarangs, but the Tasmanian Wolf heard a female shout chime from behind him. "That angel."

Just as Ridge had guessed, Cosmos, Venus, Mars, Mercury, and Jupiter disrupted O-kesutora's performance and now they would attempt to eliminate him and save the day like usual.

O-kesutora let his hands fall back down to his sides and faced these heroines as they appeared to be surprised at his arrival. The maestro gave another bow then turned back to his symphony to grab their attention and have them play another classical song.

"Uh... who are they?" Cosmos began with an uneasy tone.

"It's an orchestra symphony." Mars noticed the different musicians with their instruments, "What are they doing all the way out here in a suburban desert?"

"They're friends of those bad guys who send us Fake Thunder Eggs," Ridge answered Mars with a gruff tone, "The more they play their music, the more everyone gets interested and forgets about everything else." Ridge pointed at Bri and Naomi to show the Sailor Scouts exactly what he meant.

Mercury brought out her Mercury Computer and aimed it at O-kesutora to pinpoint and analyze his weaknesses. As the intelligent Mercury figured, O-kesutora was the person who had to be destroyed if they hoped to get rid of this music group and awaken their friends from this spell. "If we defeat the maestro of this symphony, all those musicians will disappear and the spell he's placed on our friends will be broken. Everyone, don't let their melodies put you under this same spell."

Naomi let out a happy laugh as O-kesutora was about to have his musicians play another song. He lifted his baton and they raised their instruments to play like before. This next song started out very lovely then was followed by the playing of soft violins and gentle trumpets. Unlike Naomi, Cosmos didn't want to stand still and watch this. "COSMOS, LOVELY, PERCEPTION! What?"

Even though the balls of light from the Cosmos Compass were sent directly at their target, it didn't touch them. Instead they went forth and created a dazzling white flash that made everyone had to cover their eyes and wait for it to go away. These same balls of light that were meant to give Ei-ni's Melos damage and end the fight glowed in his midst like giant fireflies. A light show that Cosmos had no means of making.

Jupiter was the most shocked by this turn in events. The Soldier of Thunder and Courage clenched her gloved fists and her eyes burned with frustration. "Guys, I'll give it a try! JUPITER... OAK... EVOLUTION!"

Like Ridge figured, Jupiter's technique created another flash. When everyone uncovered their eyes, little pink petals danced and twirled their way towards O-kesutora's symphony. If Cosmos's attack didn't work, then Ridge wouldn't expect Jupiter's to produce a different result.

"MARS... FLAME... SNIPER!"

Mars let the swiftest Mars Flame Sniper fly from her hands and watched it fly at O-kesutora almost perfectly. She'd aimed it at the center of his back as he was busy waving his baton around to conduct his song.

"Nope."

Ridge kept his arms folded the entire time. After opening his eye after the next flash vanised, he hoped that the angel and her friends would figure out their moves weren't working and that another plan would have to used.

"No way! That arrow should've pierced him right in his back."

A dumbfounded Mars watched the way her fire-based attack became beautiful music-note shaped flames that lit O-kesutora's performance. Instead of annihilating their enemy, she only helped enhance his performance.

"Splendid, splendid!" applauded Sgt. Bluey. There appeared to be no going back for him or his subordinates, Naomi, or even Bri. They were so deep under O-kesutora's spell.

"You five should see by now that you're attacks won't do anything," Ridge tried to say.

"VENUS, LOVE AND BEAUTY, SHOCK! No!"

His words fell on deaf ears as Venus sent her attack at the symphony anyway, and after having to cover her eyes, watched her attack pour tiny shiny sparkles all around the musicians like golden rain and add a touch of magic to O-kesutora's show.

"This villain isn't going to go down so easily by just single attacks. If you tried combining your powers then that could do the trick," Ridge said with sort of a, "I told you so," tone.

The Tasmanian Wolf could've went over and retrieved his Ultrarangs from near O-kesutora's feet and ended this battle once and for all, but maybe that would make be too easy. The angel and her friends would have to think of something this time.

Soon, O-kesutora's second performance was close to reaching the end. His symphony played the notes to end the song for good and received a greater round of applause from those who were already under his mysterious spell, including the now hypnotized Venus and Cosmos.

"That was wonderful! Play some more!" Cosmos cheered with her high-pitched voice.

"Yeah, we want to see more!" added Venus.

"Not you guys too!" Jupiter went over to her hypnotized friends and tried waking them up by shaking their shoulders. "Venus! Cosmos! Wake up! You're both under spells!"

Soon, the thunder soldier's attention was diverted away from her comrades as she witnessed O-kesutora and his musicians bow to their pleased audience again. A swirling portal appeared from underneath them and they slowly descended deeper into it to return to wherever they came from.

"Wow." Ridge didn't understand it.

"Hey, you're all leaving? No, we want to hear you play more music!"

Naomi started towards O-kesutora as if her life depended on it but felt someone clutch and tug her by the hand. It was Ridge, keeping her from advancing any further. This Dingo wrestled and struggled to break free, along with Bri, Sgt. Bluey, Cosmos, and Venus who were held by the remaining Sailor Scouts. Jupiter had to find a way to keep grip of Cosmos and Venus at the same time, but once O-kesutora went all the way inside his portal and it closed shut like a door, the spell he'd seemed to create wore off.

When all those placed under this trance woke up, they looked around as if they had no idea what happened. Ridge, Mercury, Mars, and Jupiter weren't sure if they wanted to mention what happened that day; for the way O-kesutora appeared, had his symphony play music, then leave all of a sudden was too awkward. So they decided to ignore their friends' confused faces and focus on having Cosmos return Sly's Essence Aura to his body.

"SILVER... MOONLIGHT... REMEDY... TOUCH!"

Like all the times before, Cosmos came down from the stars up above and touched Sly with the top of the Cosmos Wand.

* * *

><p>After Sly regained his Essence Aura but didn't return to full consciousness just yet, the marsupial found himself in some type of black dimension. All he could see around him were thousands and thousands of white stars. If it was what heaven or some other form of afterlife looked like, then he didn't know but would try and come to terms with it. He was a valid candidate to stay here and not live his life on Earth anymore anyways... he'd done so many cruel, deadly, and evil things...<p>

"Sly."

He heard this kind voice call his name and woke up from his thoughts to see who it belonged to. He found Cosmos standing a little ways in front of him and noticed how she looked so collected and calm, not worried at all by the fact that they were trapped in some endless dimension.

"You! What're we doing here?" Sly started to say, "How did I end up here...? Is this where people go when they die...?"

"You're not dead," Cosmos took a dainty step towards her smaller friend and made a concerned frown, "And if you were, what makes you think you deserve it?"

Sly found himself nervously running his fingers through his hair. He hated talking about his past, and here was this pure angelic figure here technically asking him to repeat it. If it was true that he wasn't dead and they were just in some type of alternate world, then he would do his best to tell his story. "I've... done some things in my past that I'm not too proud of. Everyone tells me I've got nothing to worry about because I'm a different person, but that doesn't take away the things I did."

Sly felt his heart sink after repeating a brief synopsis of his past, though Cosmos felt different as she went over and knelt down to be eye-level with him and look him in the eyes with those same concerned blue pupils.

"... you don't think I deserve to be punished?"

"In our world, we have lots of ups and downs, pleasures and pains, but that's life, and we learn to accept the bad with the good. Without the bad times, we wouldn't appreciate the good times. Life is precious, and I cherish every living moment, so you should too, Sly. So, you made some bad choices. All of us fall into that same boat. It's what we decide to after the mistake that matters most."

Cosmos remembered those few years ago when she gave this speech to the cold heartless villain, Kaguya who wanted to cover the world in a blanket of ice and end the existence for all lifeforms alike. What she'd needed to learn was what Sly would have to know now: _Heart_ is what makes all the difference.

Sly became so touched by Cosmos's words that the Tasmanian Tiger found himself looking away from her with a faint shadowy smile on his face. "You and Ty sure have your ways of cheering people up."

"That's what friends are supposed to do."

"What?" Sly caught the truth behind these words he'd just heard, "Only a friend would say that. Just who are you?"

He was tired of seeing Cosmos and these other Sailor Scouts show up when things turned for worst but never revealing really who they were. Well he was going to find out all their big secrets soon enough!

"Err, right now isn't the best time to answer that."

Sly would've opened his mouth to start interrogating Cosmos, but the Cosmos Wand suddenly began to glow and the world around him became enveloped in awesome white light. He woke up and came to consciousness and didn't see Cosmos or her allies anywhere; the marsupial expected this to happen. He wasn't sure if Sgt. Bluey started sending out detectives to find their whereabouts, but he wouldn't give up the interrogations.

* * *

><p>Ei-ni threw her hair brush at her mirror and watched how many shards of innocent glass fell to the floor. The Lost Chord had to let out her anger somehow.<p>

The only reason her mission became a failure was because her pea-brained Melos had the wrong idea about what he'd been asked to do. Him and his classical symphony went out and put on a show for the heroes alright. To think that Ei-ni would be successful this time...

_Knock knock knock!_

"What? Who is it?" Ei-ni responded irritably. She watched her door open and saw that it was Ei-to entering her room. This Lost Chord had been informed of her recent mishap. "What was that O-kesutora thinking? I never asked him to actually put on a show! He was supposed to _get rid_ of the girls and those furries, not _entertain_ them!"

"Maybe that's why you aren't succeeding. The Meloses you send out don't seem to produce good results."

"Who should I choose to go out next then?"

"I'll tell you after you spin the Doom Wheel."

After Ei-to said this, he watched his little sister leave the room and go up to the Doom Wheel to pull its lever...

* * *

><p>"The person who is after these Essence Auras is a man who calls himself Virtuoso. Him and his servants set their hideout in your world to search for the special Essence Aura that belongs to one person in particular."<p>

"Who would that be?" Shazza asked Nandu Gili.

"It is the Moon Princess, Princess Serenity. 10,000 years ago, a great evil was unleashed on the prosperous kingdom she once lived on, and her and her guardians were sent here to Earth as reincarnations to start new lives. Virtuoso has learned of that and so he's figured out that the Moon Princess's whereabouts is somewhere here in Southern Rivers."

"What?" Shazza and Ty reacted in unison.

"The Moon Princess is somewhere in Lake Burramudgee? How do we find her?" asked Ty.

"You won't know the Moon Princess's identity until she reveals herself. Once she does, you and Sharon must do everything in your power to protect her. Do not let them take her Essence Aura, at any costs."

"Sure thing. No worries," Ty assured the Bunyip Elder then turned to Shazza, "Shaz, let's go and tell the others about this."

"Right behind you, Possum."


	14. Chapter 14

**Maureen's Candy Fundraiser! Bara the Feisty Rose! PART ONE**

A loud chiming bell rang and all Lake Burramudgee High students poured into the hallways to head out through the entrance doors and leave. One girl in particular also made her way out the door. They casually walked down the steps while their peers moved at faster paces. They had places to go and people to meet, but she had plans that would take place on this school campus.

"Hi, Shade!"

"Huh?" This Shade girl looked up and saw the blonde-haired girl, Serena, coming up to her with three of her friends. "Oh, hi! You're all those girls I met here the other day."

"Yeah!" Serena replied with an upbeat tone, "Would you know if Maureen is here yet, Shade? We came here to help with her fundraiser."

"Oh, she should be here in just a few minutes. I also volunteered to help her out with that fundraiser."

"Really? What a coincidence! Can my friends and I ask you something?" Mina took a step towards the 18-year old.

"Sure." Shade didn't mind answering any questions, though she was surprised at the query Mina seemed to have in mind. "No, I already graduated from high school. I come here to help the teachers set up their school events and take care of things in the library. I see it as a way to help the community. Is that the same reason why you and your friends are here?"

"Yeah, something like that."

Mina suddenly noticed the Dingo who everyone was waiting for make her way towards them in a small red car.

"Hello, girls! I have the candies and baked goods for our fundraiser. Would you all mind if you helped me get them out of the trunk?"

Maureen pressed the switch to open her car's trunk, and one by one, her volunteers grabbed boxes and set them on a wooden table that was in front of the sidewalk.

After ten minutes all the candies and cookies for Maureen's fundraiser were organized and laid out for customers to pick and choose from. On multiple occasions, Rei found herself nagging Serena and Mina about eating up different candies while no one else was looking, saying that there wouldn't be anything left if they kept eating it. Maureen assured this raven-haired girl though that there was a lot more of her goodies back home, so it wouldn't hurt if Serena and Mina ate a few pieces.

Having spent most of the day in his laboratory, Julius had went outside for a walk, approached Lake Burramudgee High School, and noticed Shazza's mother holding a some type of bake sale. Of course, eating too many sweets wasn't a swell idea, but the koala wouldn't mind eating a bit if it meant supporting this fundraiser. So he went up to their booth and purchased himself a bag of peppermints.

"How is Ami's internship going?" Serena asked Julius.

"Ami and our other interns are doing very well. Her dream of becoming a doctor doesn't seem much farther away from her at the rate she's going."

"Great!"

Serena and the others said bye to Julius after he made his purchases and left.

Minutes later, Maurie appeared in front of their booth. "G'day, sheilas! Now, what do we have here? Is this a bake sale?"

"Yes, it's to raise money for art classes that were canceled due to lack of funding," explained Maureen, "Would you care to buy a licorice or two, Maurie dear?"

"Nah... my bird teeth aren't like they used to be. Try asking Ty and his rellies'."

Serena and the girls may have not made a second sale when they thought they would, but everything got better when Ranger Ken came and bought a lot of cookies and candy to give out to different kids who came by and didn't have money.

"Here ya go." He handed a last lollipop to a little koala girl who wore a puffy dress. After that, every kid was happy. "Good onya', Maureen! You sheilas should have enough money to get those art classes back in no time."

"Yes, especially with how many Opals _you've_ donated, Ranger Ken." Maureen put the last Opal inside her cash register, "You've bought up almost all the goodies that these girls and I brought out here! And look, it's getting close to sunset. Girls, all of you can call it day and we'll meet here again tomorrow if you want."

"Oh sure, Maureen. That would be great!" Shade replied with an excited smile, "I'll see all of you here tomorrow!"

She waved good-bye and received farewells as she turned on her heel to start walking down the street. This bat was to go back home... it was time for her to go to bed. Truly, Shade would've already been in bed hours earlier, but the female sacrificed time to spend with her friends who weren't nocturnal and wanted to help Maureen out with her fundraiser. The teenager knew her lack of sleep would catch up with her eventually; she'd just always do her best to ignore and not pay attention to it.

* * *

><p>Even if it only was sunset, it seemed like fewer people were outside now as Shade walked through down several sidewalks and could hear the constant clicks of her shiny purple heels. Its repetitiveness started sounding louder to the girl and annoyed her. Maybe she should just fly home since it didn't look like she would happen to bump into anymore of her friends.<p>

"Shade!"

"Ty?" Shade turned on her heel and found Ty walking up to her from an intersecting crossroad. Who would've thought she'd see him at such a later time like this? "Hi, did you just come back from your day job?"

"Yeah. And where are you off to?"

"To home. My mom keeps track of how many hours of sleep I get everyday. I've told you before how tough it was being the only nocturnal animal in Cassopolis, except now I've moved here and it's the same thing."

Ty started trying his best to think of what to say to cheer his friend up. He what one called the opposite of nocturnal, so he couldn't imagine what Shade and Shadow had to go through every time they went to bed.

"Would it be okay if I told you a secret?" Shade asked with the nicest tone she could.

"Alright." Ty watched Shade lean over to him and share a secret that astonished him. "Crikey! People like you and your mom can actually change what times you wake up and go to bed?"

"Yeah, but it's really really hard, and the last ghost bat who I heard tried it had to give up before they could become diurnal." Feeling hopeless, Shade looked up at the setting sun and twilight sky that would both become so dark and dazzled with stars in a few hours. "If I could learn how to make the switch from going to bed after breakfast to going to bed after dinner, then I could spend more time with my friends. I'm not sure if I can change my sleep cycle like that ghost bat almost did, and I know my mom might not like the idea, but I think it's worth a try. Anything's possible when you put your mind to it."

"That's right! As long as you believe in yourself, you'll succeed," Ty gives Shade a big thumbs up.

"Yeah, you're right, Ty! Once I finally become diurnal, I want to sign up for the Bush Rescue Training Program and become an honorary member of Bush Rescue. If there's any way I can make up for my mom's actions then helping you and the others with your day jobs would be perfect. I really hope I can be a good Bush Rescue Member and be friends with everyone."

"No worries. Everyone already likes you. You're nice, polite, kind, and honest," Ty explained to Shade by counting her different personality traits with his fingers.

"Thanks, Ty. I'm so lucky to have a friend like you." Shade watched her smaller friend become embarrassed and start rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "Well... I should probably get going now to start my new sleep cycle."

"You're not going anywhere!"

As Shade moved her foot to step, she and Ty heard a female's demanding voice. They could look up and see a human with dark red hair and a glittery pink vest.

"You!" Ty clenched his pearly white choppers as he recognized Ei-ni.

Having no idea what was going on, Shade tried to take off and make a run for it, but Ei-ni wrapped up the innocent girl in her magical music sheet. As much as she winced and squirmed, the bat wasn't let free. "Please, let go of me!"

Ty was willing to act violent if it meant saving and getting one of his friends out of this Doom Theater mess. The hero reached for his Goldenrangs and snarled threateningly at Ei-ni. "Let my friend go!"

"And what if I don't?"

"Then he'll do this!" came Ridge with his deeper voice.

Ei-ni took notice of this Tasmanian Wolf but was attacked by his Ultrarangs before she could move a muscle. After being sent to the ground, the Lost Chord snapped her finger and caused Shade's Essence Aura to come out of her body. Something about this Essence Aura looked like all the ones Ei-ni saw before, but at the same time there was something... different about it; it held more uniqueness and potential, as if it really could be the Essence Aura her master wanted.

Ei-ni's eyes lit up. As the girl picked herself up from the ground, she stared at Shade's Essence Aura to study its individuality. If this truly were the Essence Aura she were looking for, then that would be just splendid. She wouldn't have to deal with these furries or Sailor Scouts anymore, because Virtuoso would already be in control by then. "Is that really the one?"

Ty and Ridge kept still and watched their foe go over to Shade's Essence Aura to examine it. With the knowledge he got from Nandu Gili, they would have to also keep an eye out for this Silver Essence Aura because at that time they would have discovered the Moon Princess and became her loyal protectors. But Shade couldn't be the reincarnation of that important figure, could she?

An all too hopeful Ei-ni kept staring at this Essence Aura in her fleshy hands, but regardless, had to admit it didn't contain as much energy as the one she was looking for. "Grrr! This isn't over!"

By seeing Ei-ni toss away Shade's Essence Aura, the realization dawned on Ty and he reached for his Rangs to return to battle. The Tasmanian Tiger threw his weapons Ei-ni's way and almost landed a hit on her, but she sidestepped and created a portal to escape through while another appeared on the ground with a new person coming from it.

"Hmph!" This new character, or new _Melos_, had glossy black hair with a sombrero on her head and wore a red dress with white and blue beads. Judging by the beautiful frown on their face, they weren't feeling peachy today. "That nina didn't properly introduce me. Well that's okay. Buenos noches, chicos! Me llamo Bara the Feisty Rose!"

"Huh?" Ridge didn't hear Bara correctly, and he was sure that Ty didn't either. What language was she speaking?

Bara made a sigh then found her feisty smile. "You chicos don't speak Spanish, I see. Well that's fine. Let's see if you understand this!" At the snap of her finger, Bara poofed into a cloud of white smoke. When the cloud faded her body was gone but replaced by different Salsa music instruments; maracas might've been her hands while a drum represented her face. "If you chicos don't know Salsa, then I can show it to you, literally! Vamos a hacer esto!"

"If I were you, I'd give up, uh..." Ty wasn't sure what to call Bara since technically she wasn't a girl anymore. "Or my friend and I here will have to hurt ya'!"

"Oh, lo que es un caballero! Your words are too kind, chico, but this is the only way you boys will get it. Ahora vamos a llegar a ella!"

With no more time to waste, Bara separated her musical body parts and sent them to all to attack her opponents.

Ridge found himself combatting with a tambourine and drums while Ty got into a kind of sword fight with flutes and guitars. Ty was still getting used to using his Rangs as swords, but the Tasmanian Tiger was putting up a good fight now.

Before Ridge could throw his Ultrarangs at the drums, the fighter had to duck because a gold cymbal decided to come his way.

This battle, out of all the ones Ty had against the Doom Theater, was one of the most strange and unusual. These flutes and guitars he was sword-fighting with were Bara's arms or legs...

Soon, from out of nowhere, a shining disc came and knocked down the cymbal that kept giving Ridge problems.

He spotted that angel from out of the corner of his eye and knew just what route this battle was going to take. "Tiger, we got company."

Ty spun to where Ridge looked once his musical opponents were beaten, he also saw that winged heroine with her comrades. They sure knew how to show up at the right times of the day! "Grouse! You four showed up just in time! Think you could help us out again?"

"You bet!" Cosmos didn't know where Bara's face was but continued talking to all the villainous objects around her. "Music should be enjoyed by whoever chooses it! It's an art that not everyone understands, but that's fine. I stand for love, and I stand for justice! Put away these instruments or my friends and I will have to end your performance! "

"Pfft! Who are you, nina? I can show off my hot music anytime I please! You and your friends are welcome to stick around and hear it as well."

Bara spiced things up as her face, a drum, flew towards Cosmos to smack her.

"Uwah! That was a close one." Cosmos realized how more than one instrument was involved in this battle, so she brought out the Cosmos Compass. "COSMOS... LOVELY... PERCEPTION! "

Orbs of silver light went everywhere and Ty and Ridge had to watch them so that they wouldn't get hit.

Bara got injured from all directions and her musical parts broke to pieces. The different piles of rubble floated from the ground and formed back together to represent her human self. The Melos looked beaten and very defeated. "Grr! Now I'll have no way to perform! None of you likes Salsa? Fine! Lets see how you feel about my maestro's works!"

In a frustrated manner, Bara grabbed her sombrero from her head and made it glow with a strange white light, and this accessory's form transfigured into that of a violin.

The Sailor Scouts remembered how Sailor Neptune enjoyed playing this instrument and making lovely music. What this Melos intended to do with it was beyond them.

"Desprecio a esta música," Bara muttered to herself.

The Salsa Musician put this violin up to her and laid the bow against its strings so she could begin a melody.

Its introduction was purely unpleasant and not a single note was good. It moved along like its pitch would get higher and bring a more gentle feeling, but instead its hearers were left confused and lost. Who except for someone dark and evil would want to create a song so sinister?

_When you Meloses have your spotlight, and no one is impressed with your performance, play them this song and you'll be sure to get their attention. It is a true masterpiece. Never forget it..._

...

...

Bara wished she could forget it, but her audience hadn't liked her stuff. The Melos held her violin against her chin with her eyes closed and an obvious frown.

"Unnhhh!" Ty clutched his head as a headache came on. He didn't like this song either.

"What's this song doing to us?" Venus managed to say through clenched teeth. Some kind of dark force was messing with her, trying to make the Sailor Scout give in to its wishes.

Ridge had his share of struggles but was able to put up more of a fight by not clutching his head. He got one of his Ultrarangs and tried throwing it at Bara, but it missed and landed on the pavement. He also felt that same darkness which Venus, Ty, and the other Sailor Scouts were fighting in their minds, but could resist it a little more.

"Everyone!"

Shade, who was totally unaffected by this song, looked around at the heroes and saw the horrors they were experiencing. Theyre minds were being harassed by the spirits in this music and being pushed to turning evil. Why wasn't Shade affected by it?

The bat looked to a still performing Bara and began gathering the courage to confront her. "Please, stop playing this music! My friends don't like it! It's hurting them!"

Shade never got a response as Bara seemed to be drowned in her violin playing like a person put under hypnosis. She had been created to know this song like it was her birthmark or deepest secret.

The heroes each stood or were knelt on ground to cope with this tune's sounds, using all the willpower they had.

_That Queen Serenity was wrong to banish me! People will hear my song and love it! The show must go on!_

"Aaaaaaaahhhh!"

Cosmos felt like she was being tortured and let out a high-pitched cry. This violin song was affecting her the most.

""Sailor Moon!" Mars cried upon noticing her leader's behavior.

Ty looked at Cosmos after hearing Mars's cry and also saw how much pain she was dealing with. Through gritted teeth, he had his own share of torments. This Salsa woman needed to be stopped!

"Stop it!"

Shade finally had enough and ran towards Bara to take the Melos's violin away from her. She took its neck and yanked it so hard that it caused Bara to run her stick along one of the strings too hard and...

_TWANG!_


	15. Chapter 15

**Maureen's Candy Fundraiser! Bara the Feisty Rose! PART TWO**

At that instant, the song came to a stop and everyone felt the darkness steadily leaving them. Their headaches were gone and they could move freely without something trying to take over their minds.

"Unnhh..."

Cosmos got up to her feet while rubbing her head. She looked around at her fellow Scouts and was glad to see them recovering too. Something about that song was pure evil...

"Uh..."

Shade learned what she'd done to one of Bara's violin strings, and now the Melos was angry.

"Usted mocoso! Look what you've done to my violin! Here, I'll just let you have the whole thing then!"

Bara raised her instrument above her head, but before she could bring it down on Shade's gentle head something purple and black flashed past them and scooped the bat into its arms.

"Huh?"

Bara looked around until she found Shade and the reason she was free standing next to Ty. The sight disgusted the Melos and made her reply with, "Ugh! Its hideous! Is that bat related to it?"

"Mom!" Shade exclaimed in a surprised manner, "What are you doing up so early?"

"That's the same thing I wanted to ask you," Shade's mother replied with her raspy voice. This mother put her attention back on Bara and frowned. "Why do you dare harm my daughter? What are you people doing here fighting?"

"Ugh, now I can't perform and I have to deal with this madre. I can't work under these conditions! "

"That lady over there is to blame, Mom," Shade told the older bat.

Shadow turned a threatening glare to Bara and spread her wings to rush towards her. "You'll be sorry for hurting my daughter!"

This older bat lunged forward and struck Bara across her pretty face with her sharp claws.

Bara got up and tried to change and divide herself into an assortment of instruments, but the plan was unsuccessful. She had been too weakened by Cosmos's attack earlier and didn't have enough energy left.

"This is the end of your performance! COSMOS... LOVELY... PERCEPTION!"

"I'm not finished! Nooooooo!"

Bara let out her last cry before she was beaten for good and reverted into a compact disc. She fell to the ground and cracked into pieces, thus ending this fight and day for the heroes altogether.

_Phew!_

...

Shade glanced around at everyone then returned her sights to Ty. "What was that just now, Ty?"

"That woman was sent here to look for Essence Auras. There's something else that I've been wondering," Ridge locked his eyes onto Cosmos's as she tried to run away.

Him, Shade, and Ty and Shadow all put their eyes on her. They watched her stop before flying away and become nervous. If she had it her way, she would've already been gone and Ridge wouldn't have caught her.

"Why do you four always disappear after the fight's over?" Ridge interrogated, "You and your mates aren't telling us the whole truth. What else is there?"

Cosmos didn't want the discussion being brewed to stay silent, but at the same time she couldn't answer those questions.

She looked to her comrades and saw that they all weren't sure what to say either. Why had things had to come to this?

"G'day, mates! Would someone like to tell me what's going on here? Good ole' Maurie told me that there was a ruckus going on here," Sgt. Bluey suddenly appeared. The koala noticed the Sailor Scouts and quickly addressed them. "Who are you sheilas? Where did you come from?"

"We're the Sailor Scouts. Any other questions you have, we can't answer," Mars said this in response then looked at each of her fellow Scouts. What else were they supposed to say?

"That's not good enough for me. We want to know more."

"MERCURY BUBBLES..."

Everyone heard this new voice but looked around and didn't see anyone. The Sailor Scouts recognized it very well and tried searching for its owner, but they weren't successful either.

"... BLAST!"

An unsuspected bluish fog appeared and covered the area. The Sailor Scouts used this time to run and escape while Ty and the other furries tried looking past this fog.

"Oi! What is this? I can't see a thing!" Sgt. Bluey talked.

"Wow. I'm not impressed," said Ridge, "Those girls got off easy this time."

The Tasmanian Wolf soon watched all this blue cloudiness around him fade away as a golden shining object was raised into the air. The coast was finally cleared and he could see Ty holding the Goldenrangs above his head. "Good thinking, Tiger. Now those Sailor Scouts have left the scene again."

"What? They've disappeared again?" Maurie appeared in front of Ty.

"Maurie! I didn't see you anywhere."

"That's because I was watching this fight from a distance, Ty. Those same sheilas we keep bumping into sure know how to make an exit. Who would've thought they'd fog the place up?"

"I really loved listening to them try to explain themselves. It made me laugh," Ridge gave his input.

* * *

><p>Some time later, Cosmos flew down and landed in front of Maureen's house where Lita, Ami, Rei, and Mina waited for her. The heroine transformed back into her civilian form and heard Ami speak up.<p>

"Sorry I arrived so late, you guys. It looked like you four were almost pressured into answering those interrogations."

"Yeah! They saw us trying to make a run for it. We need to be more careful next time." suggested Lita, "So what about Shade's Essence Aura, guys?"

"It looked different from the others we've seen before, but our enemy left it. It wasn't the Silver Essence Aura," Rei explained.

"Whatever this Silver Essence Aura is for must be for the same reasons our previous enemies searched for targets," Ami assumed.

"I think so too, Ami. I wish Luna and Artemis were here so they could tell us anything they might know," Serena replied.

"Luna and Artemis wouldn't have the time to help us with this situation. They're in the future training Diana to be a good advisor to Rini."

After Rei said this, Serena thought back to that day when she'd seen Luna, or at least thought she did... maybe it was a hallucination.

"Maybe this was a sign that the Sailor Scouts should lay low for a while," said Mina.

"That's not a good idea, Mina. We need to learn more about these Essence Aura Snatchers, and that strange song they played..." Rei mentioned this last factor with a lower tone.

"What if we joined Bush Rescue? Then we would find out more and still be able to fight," Lita made this proposition.

"Hrrmm?" All her friends replied.

_Join Bush Rescue?_

"Girls!"

Serena and the others's meeting was cut short as they found Maureen walking towards them with a glass jar of money, and Shade was next to her. They looked happy and showed the object to them when they were all face-to-face.

"Pumpkins, we made quite a lot of money from today's bake sale. After two more sales, I would say that we'll have enough money to fund Lake Burramudgee High's art classes!"

"Really? That's wonderful!" Serena told Maureen.

"You girls were wonderful out there. I want to thank you all for the time you took out of your day to come and help me sale those goodies."

"It was no problem at all, Maureen. We're always eager to lend a helping hand," Ami smiled sweetly, "What time will we be having our next bake sale?"

"Hopefully around the same time. I'll let you Pumpkins know exactly when."

"Okay! Well, it was nice seeing you again, Shade," Serena told the bat.

"Oh, it was nice to see you again too, Serena. I want to do my best at the next bake sale tomorrow. Well, I have to get going now. Have a good night!"

"Good night, Shade!"

Serena and the others waved farewell to their newest friend, then turned around and followed Maureen inside her house to go in and call it a day themselves. This had been a very long day...

Inside the Doom Theater, on the stage, the curtains opened and all the ghostly members in the audience could see their most favorite performer arriving with his special violin.

He put the bow to its strings and began to play a song that he felt no one should ever forget. A true masterpiece that was purely pleasant, and every single note was good...

_I adore this song. Everyone should hear it._

_..._

_..._

Virtuoso slowly closed his eyes and wore a relaxed smile as his bow moved across his instrument. The melody brought joy to his ears like it always had.

As he delighted himself and his audience with his theme song, the maestro thought to his incompetent servants. They still had not found the object he wanted and were getting fussy because he punished their youngest brother for failing. Had they been given a task that was so hard? They had everything they needed. There was no reason for why they should've kept failing like they did. What was the reason behind their mishaps?

_I know that Aura is out there somewhere... those miserable brats have excuses to bring back instead of what I asked for. Who is the owner of it? A young man? A young lady? Maybe one of those furry creatures is carrying it. I need that Aura now, and the Lost Chords's show won't go on if they keep failing. This theater only hires professionals..._


	16. Chapter 16

**Betty's Amusement Park! Ge-mu the Virtual Genius! **

The next morning, the Sailor Scouts, Ty, Sly, Ridge, Shazza, and Naomi all met up at the water fountain as planned. Ty was the last one to meet there; he stretched his arms and yawned.

"Morning, Possum. Did ya' get a good night's sleep?" Shazza addressed her boyfriend.

"Yeah, and you?"

"Yeah."

"Are you ready to see your sister's theme park, Ty?" asked Serena.

"You bet." Ty gave a thumbs up, "Let's go, mates."

In a certain area of the Rainforest was Fair Dinkum Theme Park, an establishment ran by Betty and Duncan. All around it, one could hear chatter, laughter, people walking, different animal noises, and gates opening and closing.

Now that Fair Dinkum was remodeled, it looked much more festive and there were more decorations, balloons, and game booths such as snack shops. There was also a crocodile merry-go-round, train, bumper cars, Ferris wheel, go-karts, and roller coaster. Fair Dinkum's Mascot, Mascot Mark, became more needed and so wearing his costume became more dreadful than ever before.

He saw Ty and friends enter the park and greeted them with his usual, distressed tone. "Hi, Ty. Did you ever think of a way to unzip this suit? I don't know if I can go another year in it."

Ty scratched his head sheepishly. "Uhh... no, I haven't. I'm sure that you'll find a way out of it eventually. Don't give up hope, Mark."

Mascot Mark made an overly dramatic sigh. "I hope so... this was _not_ what I did three years of drama school for."

Once Mascot Mark said this, he was done talking, so everyone continued onward into the heart of Betty's park.

"Oh!" There's the snack bar! I wanna see what they're selling!" Serena squealed with joy.

"Should candy and sweets be the first thing you set your sights on?" came Rei's voice, "We came here to check on Betty, not to gorge ourselves with junk."

"Duh, I remember, Rei! I'm just having a sweet tooth right now."

"This is an interesting park." Ami took in her surroundings, and from the looks of it this park looked like it's theme was crocodiles and even some other rainforest critters. It could very well tie in with Betty's love for protecting animals. Intriguing.

"It's got its own style," Lita agreed.

"Hey, everyone!"

Lita, Ami, and the others spun around as they heard Betty's cool voice and saw the Tasmanian Tiger with a hand on her hip.

"Betty!" Ty approached Betty and gave her a brotherly hug.

"Hey, Sis," Sly did the same thing.

Ridge simply went up to Betty and hugged her too.

Betty let go from the embrace and began, "Hi, Ty. I'm so glad all of you could make it. This park has just been re-opened for business. Everyone loves it."

"We love it too." replied Lita.

"Thanks. Check out one of our new rides when you're ready." Betty ended the conversation at that. Ty and his party started away from her, but Mina stayed behind and told them she would stay with Betty.

...

...

The sun ascended higher into the sky and afternoon came. The weather got hotter and stickier, but everyone in Fair Dinkum was enjoying themselves too much to care.

Ty and his friends decided to split up and go their own ways through this park. They broke into two groups, so, Serena, Lita, Ami, and Rei were in one group, conversing over chili dogs, fries and drinks. They got on rides, and hung out over at a particular bench. The topic of their conversation turned over to Betty and how the marsupial could be feeling while she was with Mina.

"Serena, try this one," Mina ripped a piece of pink cotton candy from her cone and handed it to the girl.

"It tastes the same as the other one."

"Huh? How can that be?" Mina ate a piece of her treat and learned the taste for herself. "_Betty_ told me that this cotton candy was a different flavor."

"Oh, well maybe it is..."

"There's this flavor, Emu Pink. Crocberry. Koala Caramel... what's with you guys? You look totally bored. We're at an amusement park. Let's have fun."

"Mina, you still haven't told us what you told Betty," Ami broke the awkward silence.

"Yeah. I didn't mention anything. I told her to not worry about her boyfriend and mingle with new people."

"Why would you do that?" Rei immediately jumped on Mina for this action she said she'd taken, "She might not be fully healed from her relationship with Duncan. If she goes and meets someone new now, it could backfire on her."

"We want Betty to be fully secure in her next relationship," Ami said.

"I want that too, Ami."

"Then it wasn't really the best thing to tell her what you told her, Mina," Lita added her input.

Mina heaved out a defeated sigh. "You guys are right. I thought I told her the right thing. It always worked for _me_."

"Is that why you've had crushes on over 20 guys?" Rei responded.

"It was good that you wanted to cheer Betty up. At the same time, you can't put her in your shoes."

Mina started considering Ami's words and she apologized for her error. Everyone forgave her, and this was when Ty, Shazza, Sly, Naomi, and Ridge appeared.

"G'day, mates! How are all of you?" Ty began.

"We're good. And you?" responded Rei.

"Same," Sly answered, "You four should check out this park's bumper cars. They're lots of fun."

"There's bumper cars? Well what are we waiting for? Let's go!" an excited Serena snatched the hands of Lita and Rei and literally ran with them down the concrete. Ami tried calling out her name for her to stop but it didn't work.

"We never told her where the bumper cars were..." a speechless Naomi watched Serena continue on.

Shazza looked from her sister than turned her eyes to Ty; this couple felt the same way.

"She's just excited," Ami tried explaining.

"It's the sweets." Mina added.

* * *

><p>Mina rejoined with Betty, and later and the two could be seen walking through a quieter area of Fair Dinkum near the restrooms. It was getting closer to mid afternoon and they seemed to have finished the rest of whatever their talk was.<p>

"Thanks for hanging out with me, Mina. I really needed this talk."

"No problem. I'm here anytime you need to talk."

"This park's about to close soon. You should look for Ty and let 'im know it's time to start heading out."

"Sure. Bye, Betty."

"Bye, Mina." Betty waved back at Mina and the friends went their separate ways.

Feeling much better about her situation, Betty went further towards her destination and discovered a Fire Thunder Egg next to a trash can. It gleamed like a ruby but also stood out like a warning signal. Betty found herself staring at this Thunder Egg with mixed emotions; her hands rumbled with anticipation to go up to the object and touch it, though she remembered the past.

"Gotcha!"

"Huh?" Betty looked straight up to see Ei-ni and didn't have time to move. She got into a fighting stance and put on a mad frown. "Not you again!"

"Surprise! Did you miss me?" Ei-ni spoke with a villainous grin, "Let's cut to the chase. Do, re, mi... fa, so la, ti-do!"

The musical sheet manifested from behind Ei-ni and started making its way towards Betty. She wasn't a _fighter_ like her brothers, but she carried her legs as fast as she knew how to run.

"Uh!" The marsupial tripped over a toy that some kid must've dropped on the ground and forgotten about. She looked over her shoulder and saw Ei-ni's trap inching its way towards her like a snake. Betty turned and covered her eyes, feeling no other option.

WHACK!

CHING!

KABOOM!

...

...

A huge cloud of smoke reigned in the area as these three attacks emerged. When it cleared, Ei-ni could see Ridge, Ty, and Sly behind Betty with the Ultrarangs, Goldenrangs, and Kaboomerangs. Shazza and Naomi stood beside the boys with their laser guns. If Ei-ni hadn't seen brothers this angry, dauntless, and defiant for their sister before, than she'd see it now.

"You... you're going to wish you didn't do that," Sly began with a cold tone.

"You've crossed the line," Ridge spoke up.

"You're going to pay for harming our sister!" Ty raised his Rangs again and threw them with such force that they hit Ei-ni directly.

"Augh!"

The whole area flashed white as if the heavens aimed their flashlight down on the world. It faded seconds later and everyone could see a beaten Ei-ni. She rose back to her feet with a look that said she stood no chance against Bush Rescue. "You're going to have to do better than that to get rid of me! You furries need a reality check! Better yet, you need a _virtual_ check! Come forth, Ge-mu!"

Next to Ei-ni, little mint green diamonds started digitizing into the atmosphere and eventually formed a male cyborg with full green armor, a clear red orb on his chest, blonde hair, and handsome blue eyes. This Melos face looked so stiff like a robot's but didn't have a polished shine, so he had to be human-like for sure.

Ge-mu turned his sights towards his new opponents with a permanent blank expression.

"Ge-mu! Eliminate these rats, I don't care how you do it, just beat them!" Ei-ni made a portal appear and she escaped through it, all in one swift motion.

Ty and his siblings turned their attention back to their new foe and anticipated his first move. They watched him press the orb on his chest and a holographic screen appeared in front of him. 8-bit game music in the form of midi started playing.

"Woah! What's that?" began Ty.

"Don't know, but it's not all that cool," Ridge commented with his arms crossed.

Everyone kept their ground as Ge-mu went through different options and his music kept playing. Soon the Melos's hologram went to a screen that had a choice of weapons. Out of all of them he chose the Laser Gun, and the menu screen changed into it. These numerous digital bits came together and formed the Laser Gun so perfectly after he pushed the yes button, and so he was armed now.

A shooting game song started playing and Ge-mu held his weapon up. He fired bright beams from it that looked too animated to summon them.

Ty rolled out of harm's way and waited for the right opportunity to retaliate. He located Betty and hurried over to the girl to take her hand. "C'mon, Betty!"

Betty gladly took her brother's hand and followed him away from this new battlefield. They passed by the roller coaster and could hear some kids soar past them in its seats. Next came the Ferris wheel, where Rex and Elle could be seen in one of its seats, enjoying each other's presences like couples usually did.

...

...

Ty and Betty finally came to a clearer place with tables and benches where people ate their food from the snack booths. Betty stepped towards one of the tables and turned back to her sibling. "I'll wait for you here, Ty. You, Sly, and Ridge show that baddie who's boss."

"Sure thing!" Ty ran back to the fight with his Rangs gripped tightly and still heard Ge-mu's music play through his ears. Sly, Ridge, Shazza, and Naomi were evading Ge-mu's shots and had difficulty counter-attacking. Ty showed and threw the Goldenrangs. They knocked Ge-mu's gun out of his hands and so the Melos summoned his _Light Sword_.

He pressed his chest orb again and fighting music came on. As Ge-mu lunged towards Ty like an RPG swordsman, he swung at Ty but missed.

Ty raised his Rangs and started fighting with them like swords. The hero ducked and jumped, whatever was necessary, until eventually his Rangs collided with Ge-mu's and both weapons were pushing against each other. "Unnhh..." Ty clenched his teeth as he put all of his strength into pushing Ge-mu's sword away.

The Melos too struggled to break through this. His music started reaching a climatic, almost nerve-wrecking point, and everyone watching could feel the climax too.

"Ah!" Ty fell backwards and landed on his back. He fixed to get back up but saw the tip of Ge-mu's sword held right in front of his nose. What was he going to do?

"I guess I'll have to handle this."

Ty looked over at Ridge who said this and watched the Tasmanian Wolf throw his Ultrarangs. They went at Ge-mu and the Melos managed to avoid them. Ridge attempted to attack again and he hit Ge-mu's arm.

Ge-mu's sword fell from his grasp and vanished as he gingerly put a hand to his new injury. It was time to end this.

The Virtual Genius activated his menu screen again and used it to choose a hand with a laser gun attached. The injured arm shattered into digital bits then reformed an arm that could shoot blasts like Megaman's. In the same way that Megaman charges his gun before firing, Ge-mu did this, and when ready unleashed a Kamehameha of blue light.

"Aah!" Shazza and Naomi took the hardest fall to the ground.

"Unh!" Sly also fell and landed near a ride entrance.

When it was said it done, Ridge got back up, looking battered. His eyes showed the anger and frustration. His stance symbolized undying hope. He wasn't backing down. Out of the corner of this maverick's eye, he noticed Ty start rising to his feet and parted his lips. "Tiger, this fight needs to end."

"No worries." As Ty raised his Goldenrangs to send another attack, a volley of missiles appeared from behind the marsupial.

Ge-mu received damage as his music reached its finale, and the words, "Exit Stage Left!" appeared above him in holographic letters. He reverted back to a CD then landed on the ground and shattered...

Ty shifted his eyes from Ge-mu's remains to behind him where he saw Julius in a Jet Bunyip and Maurie was at the koala's side flapping his old Cockatoo wings. "Julius! Maurie! Thanks for firing those missiles."

"You blokes look like you needed some assistance. I told Julius here that someone needed to come and keep an eye on you kiddies. Where did Serena and those other sheilas go?"

"They went back to our Mum's. They said they needed to talk to her about something important," Naomi answered Maurie's question.

"Those Sailor Scouts didn't show up this time," mentioned Ridge.

"They always show up when these bad guys come. Why wouldn't they come this time?" asked Shazza.

"I think we might have a clue to that question, right in front of us." Maurie flew down towards the broken compact disc and picked all of its pieces up. He stared down at them in his feathery palms then looked back at Julius. "Julius, do you think you could study these things back in your lab?"

"I'm sure that I could, Maurie. Ty. I think I will need your help with retrieving each of those CDs. If I am to study them, then I will need as many samples as possible. Do you understand?"

"Yeah."

"Well great. We've got this all figured out. Let's call it a day and head home," Maurie declared.

* * *

><p>Crickets could be heard chirping as the night came. Mostly everyone in Lake Burramudgee settled in, except Ty and Shazza were still out. They walked down the street that Bri's house was on and went up to his front window. They saw Betty talking to him and Di about an explanation that'd been owed to the heroes hours earlier inside Fair Dinkum.<p>

Betty was sorry for worrying everyone with her unusual behavior. She was having issues with Duncan and the two ended their relationship not too long ago. His hippie ideas and philosophies had gotten too much in the way of how they'd said they wanted to spend the rest of their lives together. Betty realized that she was denying her hero genes because she wanted to be committed to being in a relationship. The idea of rescuing animals was her way of being a hero; Duncan was also for it so that encouraged her to come up with the amusement park. One thing came after another, and here she was.

Betty embraced both her parents and let them know that she loved them very much. She went on to say that she thought of selling Fair Dinkum to Redback Jack, Redback Russ, and Redback Thorn, because they talked about getting a larger place for their cart racing racket. Then, she would join Bush Rescue and help her brothers.

After having watched this sweet moment, Ty and Shazza exchanged farewells and went their separate ways. Shazza barely stepped foot into her mom's living room to see everyone there on the couches. Maureen, Serena, Ami, Lita, Rei, and Mina had all been having some kind of secret talk since they hushed themselves at Shazza's arrival. This Dingo asked what the deal was and learned that they were planning Naomi's birthday party. Naomi was upstairs asleep and wasn't supposed to hear even the smallest detail, so Shazza found her own spot on the couch and joined their meeting.

* * *

><p>Ei-to sat at the piano, peacefully silent. He was thinking of another song to play and wanted it to be one that soothes the heart. He put his fingers to the keys and started making a melody...<p>

_So, you still haven't located that special Aura for me. Is that it?_

_Maestro, I don't want to let you down! It's those annoying furries, and Sailor Scouts! Please give me another chance. I'll do better next time._

_You disgust me. You and your brother, Ei-he. Out of the three of you, Ei-to seems like the most composed and sound, but you two aren't accessible. You're like a dissonance. You don't have harmony, and you're discordant! Exit stage right!_

_Maestro Virtuoso!_

...

...

_Ei-ni... why won't you open your door and let me in? We need to talk._

_I don't feel like talking at the moment, Ei-to. Maestro Virtuoso is very angry with us... I'm going to end up in that songbook like Ei-he._

_Perhaps you will. Perhaps you'll finally find the Silver Essence Aura. _

_Ei-to! Why are you talking like that? This is serious! I won't get to be a star if I mess up one more time! We've aspired to be stars our entire lives, and now all of that might go down the drain, because of me. I'm a complete failure!_

_You shouldn't give up so willingly. You still have one more Melos to send out, and another opportunity._

_I don't see how you can be so upbeat about this. You haven't been out there, that must be why you can maintain your optimism._

_Maybe I could still have some part in your next plan._

_You mean you're going to help me?_

_Of course. I'll choose the next Melos for you._

_Oh thank you, Ei-to! _


	17. Chapter 17

**Naomi's Birthday Bash! Fuusen the Circus Freak! PART ONE**

"Hold on, Ty. Let me tie this balloon..." After blowing up yet another balloon with helium, Shazza tied its end. Then she handed it to Ty and the marsupial taped it to a wall next to two others.

"I sure hope these balloons stay like this," Ty replied.

"Don't worry, Possum. Mum! When will Naomi be here? Me and Ty here are almost done putting up her balloons."

"She should be here in an hour, Pumpkins. Thank you for all your help!"

"No problem," Ty replied. He and Shazza had been in Maureen's living room decorating the place with balloons and ribbons, meanwhile Serena and her best friends were in the kitchen, baking the cake and cookies.

"Lita, are those cookies done? We've finished laying the next set out on this pan," Ami stated.

"Let me check." Lita went up to Maureen's oven and looked through its window to see cookies with a golden-brownness. "They look ready! Let me take them out." With a baking mitten, Lita opened the oven and grabbed the pan. She set it on top of the stove and inhaled its sweet freshness.

Rei handed Lita the dish with the uncooked desserts and she popped it in the oven like so.

"Naomi's party is going to be a blast!" began Serena.

"The birthday girl should be here any minute." Mina stood in front of a bowl with chocolate chips, eating them constantly.

"Mina, we need those chocolate chips for the cookies. You're eating too many," fussed Rei.

"Oh. But they're so good. I don't think Naomi would mind if some of her cookies aren't chocolate chip." Mina continued as she ate yet another chocolate chip, though in the background heard Ami say, "Eating too many of those could give you a stomach-ache," so she replied, "I won't eat a lot."

"Does anyone remember how old Naomi is now?" Serena changed the subject.

"I think she said 18," Lita answered.

"The big 18! She's finally an adult. She'll get to move out of her mom's house and have her own place."

"I agree that moving out at 18 is a great experience. All of us only have two more years until we can do that. But even before that we must finish high school and find decent jobs," Ami shared these ideas.

"When I move out, I want to be fully secure. I want an apartment in the Odaiba District so I can continue my dreams as a singer."

"I'm better off staying with my grandpa in the shrine since I want to become the head priest someday," Rei stated after Mina.

"I already live alone, so I'm set," came Lita's voice.

"By the time I'm 18, I will have already married Darien and we'll have our apartment," Serena declared excitedly.

"Is Darien all she ever thinks about?" Rei could be heard saying to the others.

"Rei, you do know that I can hear you."

"Oh. You haven't went off to La La Land after all."

"Ooh! What's got you so worked up, Rei?"

"You always talking about your boyfriend, that's what!"

"Guys, please don't argue. We're supposed to be getting ready for the party," Ami stepped in between her friends.

"You two can never seem to go anywhere without arguing. We came here to have a vacation."

Mina took in everything Lita just said then formed a response of her own. "I think Serena misses Darien a lot."

"You wouldn't believe how much, Mina. I wish I could see my Darien and tell him about all things we've done here in Lake Burramudgee. He would be so psyched."

"I think he would just react like we did," Ami retorted, "Still, I understand why you wish you could see him again soon. I thought about writing a letter to my parents, but with all that's been going on I haven't had the time to sit down and tell our stories."

"I told Chad and my grandpa I would write them when I'm ready," mentioned Rei.

"I think my mom could care less if I sent her a letter," Mina honestly admitted.

"How could you say that about your own mom?" Lita asked shockingly.

"Simple."

...

...

Whatever else Mina added about her mother and whatever Lita said against it, the others didn't really care to listen.

"You all say that Rei and I argue a lot. Look at these two right here," Serena insisted.

"Actually, they don't argue with each other that much. It's only happened twice." After Ami gave this response, Maureen came into the kitchen and stole everyone's attention with her usual warm smile. Mina and Lita quieted down for the Dingo to not catch sound of their bickering.

"How are the cookies coming along, girls?"

"We just put the last batch in your oven," Lita regained her cool, "Everything else is ready to be set out."

"Grouse! Naomi should be here very soon. Thank you girls for all of your hard work!"

"Anytime, Maureen. We also appreciate you for letting us lodge here in your home during this vacation," Ami told the mother.

"Oh, it's no problem, Pumpkin." Maureen left the kitchen to go and attend to other tasks, so the atmosphere didn't feel as awkward.

Mina and Lita exchanged glances when the coast was clear then turned away from each other. "Hmph!"

After so long, Maureen's house was filled with dozens of party guests; practically everyone in Southern Rivers had been invited. Besides everyone already in Maureen's home, there was Maurie, Julius, Di, Bri, Ridge, Charlene the Wombat, Rex and Elle, Lenny the Lyrebird, the Koala Kids, Boonie the Koala and his father, Merv, Poly Monkey, Sergeant Bluey, Shade, Lily, Shiela, and Tiberius. Also, Pippa and Peppa were sent invitations and accepted them. Snappy and Patch, on the other hand, declined the offer because they'd simply said no; this Insect and Quoll were both known to be anti-social, so a refusal was to sort of be expected.

Everyone else got settled into this party mood and started eating the finger snacks or drinking the fruit punches set out on specific tables. Sergeant Bluey enjoyed himself, obviously more than everybody as he talked his head off. Mascot Mark was ready to burst into anger as different Biblies and Koala Kids kept asking if he were hired for Naomi's party. Not only was it being inside Fair Dinkum, but now he was here in this party setting, still in his same costume.

Ty looked away from Mascot Mark and Sergeant Bluey and noticed Sly standing against a wall by Maureen's hallway, alone. He went towards the outsider and approached him with a casual demeanor. "Hey, Sly. What's up?"

"The ceiling. This is a cool party."

"Then why are you back here?"

"I'm not a social person," Sly ran his hand through his hair, "You, out of all people, should know that." Sly said this and his brother left the conversation at that.

Promptly, Ty started away from him to return to the party, and he heard knocks from the front door.

"Oh! Is that someone at the front door?" Maureen asked from the opposite side of the room, "Ty, Pumpkin, could you answer the door?"

"Sure!" Ty did as he was told and opened the door. The visitor... "Huh?"

"Stuffed, I'll be!" gasped a surprised Shazza, "Mum! Who invited the circus?"

"You guys hired a circus for my party?" Naomi asked, confusedly.

"We've already got Barry Crocka!" piped one of the Koala Kids. They heard Mascot Mark make such an angry growl that they got scared and ran for the kitchen like Boss Cass had came in with a killer robot.

"I WASN'T HIRED TO COME HERE! THIS IS THE WORST DAY OF MY LIFE!" Mascot Mark left in such a fury that even Dennis's brother, Bruce, couldn't make him stay, and that Green Tree Frog was one of the blokiest citizens in all of Southern Rivers.

...

...

After Mascot Mark moved past this circus group and left, its ringmaster took a step forward with everyone's eyes on him. They were a Tasmanian Tiger with Sly's fur who wore a purple ringmaster uniform. His hat covered their eyes and so anyone's attention would be directed more to his Chesire Cat smirk. Behind the ringmaster was three other Tasmanian Tigers dressed up as clowns, each in their own colors and goofy clown costumes.

Ty grew suspicious and asked, "Who are you four?"

"Well, who do you suppose we are?" the ringmaster replied with a clever voice, "I always thought that we were circus folk, but you can think different. Where is the birthday girl?"

"Right here." Naomi raised her hand and all the _spotlight_ on the ringmaster moved to her. The ringmaster started towards her with his clowns following suit, and when they all stopped in front of her he parted his lips.

"Ah, _this_ birthday girl. Here, here is your gift from me." the ringmaster reached inside one of his coat pockets, and in his hand was a bouquet of Royal Bluebells. The ringmaster delighted at Naomi's dramatic gasp and spoke. "Enjoy these flowers, because later on they won't be flowers. J'espère que vous obtenez tous de vos souhaits d'anniversaire, vous jolie fille . (I hope you get all of your birthday wishes, pretty girl.)"

Naomi had no idea what her guest said, but his intimate tone and French accent wooed her. She blushed and giggled, glancing down at her new flower then back up at the ringmaster.

"Huh?" Sly's eyes widened at this. He then gritted his teeth and got a frown on his face.

The ringmaster went on to have his clowns continue through the living room and go outside to Maureen's backyard. "Ladies and gentlemen, we will be responsible for orchestrating the rest of this get-together! Come! Follow us to this backyard if you wish to be entertained!"

One by one, each of Naomi's guests started after the ringmaster's clowns. The room was steadily emptied until only Ty, Shazza, Sly, Ridge, and the Sailor Scouts were the only ones in it.

Serena crossed her arms and wore a face with so much disapproval. "Hmph! What does that wiseguy think he's doing? _We_ were the ones who planned Naomi's party, and now _he's_ in charge!"

"And just where did he come from?" asked Lita.

"Something about that ringmaster is fishy," Ami added.

"Definitely. Did you see the way he talked to Naomi? I don't trust 'im." When Sly said this the Tasmanian Tiger received teasing grins from Ridge and Mina. "What are you guys staring at?"

"You totally have a crush on Naomi! How come you didn't get her a birthday present?" Mina inquired.

"Because he used all of his Opals to buy Goldenrangs. Haha," Ridge answered this question.

Serena's fussiness vanished the instant she learned this truth. "You didn't save any cash to buy Naomi a present? You're a bad boyfriend!"

Sly's next breath got stuck in his throat and his face started reddening. The embarrassment weighed down on him like a weight on paper. How had the conversation became this?

"Serena, you dork! Sly and Naomi aren't dating _yet_! Close that big mouth of yours!" Rei barked.

"Is there something you and Serena aren't telling us, Rei?" Ridge interrogated the priestess.

"Guys!" Ami silenced everyone with her desire for peace, "There's no time to be bickering! We must also go outside and keep an eye on that ringmaster and his clowns."

Everyone nodded in total agreement.

* * *

><p>Once everyone gathered outside, the ringmaster reached inside his coat pocket again and this time revealed a colorful gramophone. A record had already been placed in it, so he set it on the ground and looked up at his audience who stood some feet away from him. "Be amazed by this performance that my helpers and I are about to put on for you! If one of you three would be so kind as to get the music started..."<p>

One of the clowns went over to the gramophone, grabbed its lever, and started rotating it. The more it spun, the sooner that wondrous circus music came on. A miracle was born as the tunes came to everyone's ears and their interests peaked like tall trees, like white doves being freed from cages, like the sun rising on a new day...

"Ooh!" The audience's breaths were taken away as the clowns started juggling bowling pins whilst riding unicycles. Not one time did they ever fall or drop anything. Their grace and focus were perfect.

The ringmaster, meanwhile, retrieved a balloon from his coat and blew air into it. Once it reached a certain size he tied its end into a knot and started twisting and shaping it. This object's final form was what looked like a dog.

"Ahh..." Naomi and friends were only more entranced as this show went on. The balloon puppy floated down from its creator's hands and walked along the grass like an actual dog, barking and even wagging its tail.

Away from this show, on the left side of Maureen's backyard, stood the heroes who all looked displeased with it.

"I don't buy any of this. Tiger, let's wait until the right moment and end this clown's act," Ridge devised this plan.

"Gotcha."

"Possum, I'm worried about Naomi and my mum. I'll go and keep a closer eye on 'em." Shazza broke away from the group and headed straight for her relatives, so her comrades stayed vigilant and kept watching the ringmaster from afar.

As the circus song continued and his clowns kept performing, the ringmaster reached for both sides of his coat and spread them so far apart like a blanket; instantly, dozens of balloons came pouring from out of it like a flood. The whole area became covered in balloons like a place enshrouded by Mercury Bubbles Blast. _Everyone_ was caught on guard and constantly looked every which way at all the vibrant objects around them.

The heroes gasped and all started towards this balloon ambush, with Ty in the front.

"Where did all of these balloons come from?" Mina asked as they reached the show's midst.

Everyone felt themselves keep looking left and right, losing sight of some people while wondering how the ringmaster caused all of this to begin with.

Sly noticed a giggling Naomi, but after a red balloon ascended past the Dingo she was gone. Like a flash...

"Mum!" Shazza felt balloons come between her mother and her. She saw Maureen for a while, but soon the balloons_ took_ her away like Naomi. What was going on?

The next thing Naomi knew, she was on her mom's roof, lying unconscious. No signs of excitement or laughter on her face, but only blankness.

Ei-ni's feet could be seen and heard landing near Naomi. Her shadow overtook Naomi's form like a cat dominates a mouse.

Within seconds, Naomi's Essence Aura was extracted from her body and floated above her like a white mist. Ei-ni examined it to the best of her abilities, but regardless of her hopes, it wasn't the one. "... this can't be happening. This isn't the Aura I want... why is this happening? Why can't I succeed just one time?"

"Because the bad guys never win."

As if hearing Maestro Virtuoso's furious voice, Ei-ni looked up and found Sly with an angry face himself. The fear that she worried about experiencing later was coming at her now like a dark and rushing wind.

"You're gonna be sorry for crashing Naomi's party," Sly went on.

"Oh yeah?" Ei-ni's own temper finally arose, "You and those other furries are going to be sorry for all those times you got in our way! This ends now! Do, re, mi... fa, so la, ti-do!"

Sly thought fast and leaped into the air to avoid Ei-ni's music sheet. Like a snake, it slithered towards him. The Tasmanian Tiger threw his Goldenrangs at Ei-ni and she avoided it. He grabbed these weapons the instant they returned to him and threw them a second time.

Back down below on the ground, balloons still galore; they stayed still in the air like color advertisements. Just about everyone except for the heroes vanished, so the heroes stood in this balloon fog in search of the main culprit.

Ami brought out her Mercury Computer and did an analysis on the whole area then gave its results. "There's a strange energy here. That ringmaster has gotten rid of everyone else..."

"... except for us." Rei kept her sights sharp and her ears open. Suddenly, the girl spun around to block someone's punch. "Haah!"

"Rei!" Serena and the others spotted this, and through balloons found Rei's attacker.

"You all stuck around after my show. How committed of you. Unfortunately, I must draw this night to a close." The ringmaster started chuckling as if he'd heard the funniest joke. "How rude of me! I never properly introduced myself. I am _Fuusen_ the Circus Freak!"


	18. Chapter 18

**Naomi's Birthday Bash! Fuusen the Circus Freak! PART TWO**

"You're one circus freak alright! What'd you do with our friends?" Lita clenched her fists.

"They're all resting sound asleep. If sending them home was an issue, then with all due respect my dear, I apologize," Fuusen still wore that same Chesire Cat smile.

"Enough with the good guy act! We don't believe it! It's time for you and your clowns to hit the road!" Rei snapped angrily.

"You're finished!" Ty pointed his finger at Fuusen.

"Oh? Ha! I don't think so. Boys, come and give these people the show they came for!"

A new and faster circus song came on. Fuusen's clowns's figures started being made out through the balloons and the heroes changed into their defensive poses.

Shazza shot at one who planned to rush at her and she hit some balloons. Of course their popping noises were like any regular balloons, but something about these ones here made Ami think.

Lita had ran up to the second clown who was on his unicycle and was throwing bowling pins at her. She swayed and ducked past every single one to uppercut him in the chin and send him flying. "Creep!"

"I've got it! These balloons are created by Fuusen's magic! They'll just keep coming from out of thin air and hindering our vision until we destroy him!"

"Well, I'm ready," Ridge replied to Ami.

"Same here!" Ty twirled his fingers around as he switched from his Goldenrangs to the Multirangs. What better device to destroy hundreds of balloons with than one which Ty could throw four Rangs sequentially?

Multirangs started flying like bullets and Fuusen's balloons took great damage. If a creative person were to watch this they would say it was like seeing a boomerang extravaganza.

Serena was with the third clown, running as they chased after her in a tiny clown car with lit dynamite. "Uwah! Get away from me! It's only a matter of time before that dynamite explodes!"

"Oh no you don't!" Mina caught up to Serena and got in between her and the clown.

Dumbfounded, the clown pressed the brakes on his car while Mina was already planning her next move.

She did a Sailor V Kick and knocked the dynamite out his hands like a soccer ball and sent it further away from Maureen's house.

The clown gasped then grew angry at Mina and reached under his little seat to get a whipped cream pie. Before he could throw it at her the dynamite blew up.

BOOM!

...

...

A crater now resided near Maureen's fence. Balloons could still be seen floating still as if the balance in the fight stayed unchanged and no one made any drastic moves.

"You folks are putting such a damper in our performance!" Fuusen's voice rang out.

Ty continued popping balloons alongside Ridge and Shazza. This trio shot down so much that they now had a clearer view of the battlefield and could see Fuusen in the neck of Maureen's tree.

"My balloons!" Fuusen got highly upset and his smile turned upside-down. "I know just exactly who all of _you_ are! You are a horrible audience!"

"Grr!" Ei-ni tried striking at her target again, but he was just too fast.

Sly threw his Goldenrangs at Ei-ni and the Lost Chord fell backwards.

"Aah!" She managed to find hold of the roof's ledge, and unlike her microphone, barely survived. That tool laid shattered in pieces on the part of the roof she'd stood on.

"Any last words?" Sly said with a cold tone.

"P-please, please spare me... this was all a mistake, coming here."

Sly's arms fell to his sides. "What mistake?"

"The only reason we kept coming to this place was to find a special thing for our maestro... ah!" Ei-ni's grip loosened so she gripped the ledge tighter, "... he said that it was the only way we could finally achieve our goals, but it's hopeless! You and your friends keep foiling every plan we make! AAH!"Finally, her hand gave way and Ei-ni felt gravity's pull.

...

...

Gravity's force vanished all of a sudden. The grasp of a furry hand finally dawned on her and she looked up to see icy blue eyes melt into confused, almost concerned ones. _He rescued me...?_

"Hold on... I got ya." With all of his strength, Sly yanked on Ei-ni's hand, but the larger person didn't come up any closer. A dark purple portal manifested behind Ei-ni and from it someone reached their hand out. Sly saw this and grew astonished as the hand went towards Ei-ni and snatched her free hand like a kidnapper.

Ei-ni screamed as their hand made contact with hers and cried out to Sly for help, but it'd all went by so fast like one of Ty's Rangs.

"Huh?" Serena heard Ei-ni's scream, as well as the rest of the group. Everyone looked around in wonder of the source though spotted more portals appearing by Fuusen and his minions.

"What is the meaning of this?" Fuusen was the first to go. His clowns shared in this same twisted fate with their unicycles, cars, and pies following them...

Time seemed to return to its normal pace as Sly finally processed what'd just happened, and the marsupial got up to his feet. He looked back at Naomi and watched her Essence Aura still looming over her lifeless body.

* * *

><p>Some birthday party this had been. Serena and friends's efforts put in, only to be dashed to pieces like broken pottery because of the Doom Theater. Fuusen had changed the agenda by romancing Naomi and entrancing everyone with his silly circus antics, only to have his performance cut short. If Serena had thought her 15th birthday was bad, then she was so wrong.<p>

Naomi had been moved back inside to her room and placed on her bed while her Essence Aura stayed over her. Shazza, Ty, Sly, and Ridge stood over the girl, despaired and frantic about how to save her. The Sailor Scouts stood behind everyone out of respect, as they felt Naomi's closer friends should be nearer.

"What are we going to do, Possum? Sailor Cosmos is the only one who can put Essence Aura's back inside someone's body," Shazza explained.

"Why hasn't she showed up yet?" Sly constantly moved his limbs about.

"I don't know... but we can't give up."

Ridge responded to Ty by folding his arms. "I hate to disappoint you, Tiger, but from what we've seen so far, I reckon this is unusual. That angel should've been here."

Serena bit her lip out of guilt. A bead of sweat rolled down the side of her face. _They don't know that the angel they're talking about is right here, behind them. But they can't know the truth... _As Serena felt this new weight of accountability push down on her, she noticed Ami bring out her Crystal Change Rod and hold it with both hands like a microphone. She closed her eyes and started whispering.

Mina, Rei, Lita also noticed this and realized what Ami was doing. They each brought out their own wands and started praying as well. Twinkles appeared on top of the Sailor Scouts's rods and so their pleas grew more heartfelt.

After finding that Ty and the other furries still hadn't noticed this, Serena put her hands to her chest over the Cosmos Moon Article, and joined her friends. Suddenly, Naomi's Essence Aura started flowing back into her.

"Dooley!" Shazza exclaimed.

Ty, Sly, and Ridge's eyes also widened as this took place. Naomi's Essence Aura fully made its way back inside her body and she regained her color.

"Bonza!" A smile lit up on Ty's face that no one was sure they'd ever seen before, and the same happened with Sly.

Ridge unfolded his arms and his lips curled a bit themselves.

The Sailor Scouts were so relieved that tears came out of some of their eyes. This had been a miracle.

...

...

"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday, dear Naomi... happy birthday to you!" In Maureen's kitchen everyone gathered around the birthday girl at the dinner table. A beautiful white cake laid before her with 18 burning candles.

Everyone clapped and watched Naomi blow each one out, happy that this disaster became a blessing. The cake was cut into pieces and everyone got their share, found their seats, and enjoyed the rest of Naomi's birthday like it should've really been celebrated.

* * *

><p>"Uhh!" Ei-ni fell to the floor as she was thrown down like a useless tool.<p>

"Do you realize what you've done, Ei-ni? You gave in to the enemy and betrayed Maestro Virtuoso."

"What are you talking about?"

"Don't play games with me," Ei-to raised the sharpness in his still lower voice, "Your words say otherwise."

Ei-ni's mouth couldn't open.

"You wish that you didn't have to do this anymore."

"... I can't lie to you. It's true..."

"Well, you won't have to worry for much longer."

As if on cue, Ei-to looked up past his sister.

She too turned her head and grew afraid at what she saw. "No! Maestro Virtuoso! STOP!" Ei-ni's body started changing into a musical note; the turning of her head and staring back at Ei-to with tears coming down her face... was her last act.

_Ei-to..._

Maestro Virtuoso brought his baton back down to his side and watched Ei-ni hover into his song book. The sound of the book closing pricked Ei-to's heart...

_You're the one who did the betraying, Ei-to!_


	19. Chapter 19

**Fluffy's Revival? The Third Thunder Egg Hunt! PART ONE**

"Ty, Sharon. I have some bad news, my friends."

"Oh no," Ty replied.

"What's happened?" Shazza asked Nandu Gili.

"After Boss Cass killed Fluffy, Karlos recovered her remains and is regenerating them as we speak."

"Karlos found a way to revive the real Fluffy?" Was Ty really hearing this?

"Unbelievable!" Shazza was amazed.

"Do not get excited so soon, Ty," Nandu Gili gave this warning, "Karlos can change Fluffy's heart and turn her evil. You must watch out and be ready."

"Fluffy joined our side and put her life on the line. She was the bravest out of everyone," Shazza reflected on the past.

"I wish she didn't have to die," Ty admitted honestly.

"Oh, Possum." Shazza went over to her boyfriend and took his hand into hers. She understood him about this situation, totally. No one had been ready to see Fluffy go, but her sacrifice would not be in vain.

Nandu Gili spoke up again moments later. "Ty, you might not get your friend back, but the sacrifice she made will not be in vain as long as you continue fighting. Do not give up hope, my friend."

* * *

><p>A day after Ty and Shazza met the Bunyip Elder, they were back in Southern Rivers tending to their daily schedules. While Ty was out and about doing various missions, Shazza was in her Bunyip shop. Business was slow, so the Dingo was left with nothing to do but dwell on the meeting she and Ty had with Nandu Gili.<p>

How would Karlos really bring Fluffy back? And why? She'd given up villainy and joined forces with Bush Rescue during the Quinkan Invasion, so surely it wouldn't work. If this lizard were alive again, she would keep aiding Bush Rescue.

Shazza fell out of her thoughts as her store's door was opened and Ty came in. He approached her counter with a small smile and a conversation was born.

"Possum, you're here to buy Bunyip parts? Let me know if you find anything."

"Sure thing." Ty started looking around her store. The marsupial found his items and made his purchases, also handing Shazza a white flower along with 40 Opals.

"You beauty! Thanks, Possum!" Shazza pecked Ty on the cheek affectionately.

He blushed and started rubbing the back of his head.

"This is the flower we saw in the Dreaming when you did your training. You remembered that I said I wanted it."

"You bet! Anything for you, Shaz."

* * *

><p>"Serena, you and Rei never explained to us what you said about Sly and Naomi the other night. How do you know when they'll start dating?" Mina interrogated Serena and Rei as they, Ami, and Lita were in front of Lake Burramudgee's same remodeled water fountain.<p>

"We heard Ty and Shazza talking about it. They said their siblings have had the hots for each other since the Quinkan Invasion," explained Rei.

"So that would be almost one year," Ami did the math," But that still doesn't mean they will start dating."

"I believe they will. If you guys think that's a shock, then wait until you hear what else was said," Serena blurted out.

"What?" Lita asked.

"Ty and Shazza are engaged!"

Everyone's jaws dropped so far down; as if by cue, the mentioned couple appeared in Shazza's Fourbie and parked beside the girls, only to have them rush at her and Ty with chatter. A bunch of jumbled up words was what might as well have came out because they didn't understand any of it.

"Guys, please don't interrogate Ty and Shazza about this. Their engagement is still a personal matter."

Ami's friends immediately hushed themselves and looked back at her like she were very ill.

"Was that Ami?" began Mina.

"It doesn't sound like her, but it is her," said Lita.

"Should we check her temperature?" Rei questioned.

"Very funny, you three. I am in perfect health."

"You're not interested in love. Why so defensive about us talking to Ty and Shazza about their relationship?" Serena questioned Ami.

"It just seems too forward to ask when it hasn't been formally announced. Normally, the couple makes the announcement to everyone that they are to get married before being asked questions."

"I've never heard of that before. You must have read that from a book somewhere," Mina replied.

"No, I didn't."

"Ty, you and Shazza don't mind if we talk about your engagement, do you?"

"Er..." Ty was left at a blank at Serena threw this question at him.

All of a sudden, familiar helicopter noises could be heard. Everyone looked up and spotted Duke descending towards them with Ranger Ken leaning out of their helicopter.

"G'day, Ranger Ken!" Ty exclaimed.

"G'day mates! We've got big trouble! Karlos's henchman are in the mountains melting all of the snow with flamethrowers! We've gotta stop 'em before all of the snow is gone and Burramudgee Lake gets flooded!"

"No worries!" Ty replied.

"Bush Rescue is on the case!" came Shazza's voice.

"We'll help you guys!" Serena and her main colleagues gladly followed Ty and Shazza who were going after Ranger Ken and Duke.

In the Snowy Mountains, just like Ranger Ken described, fire was being spewed out everywhere. Flames licked at the ground like it were ice cream. Smoke created from this hung in the atmosphere like a thick white fog. It was only a matter of time before all of the snow would melt and water would come rushing down the mountain like the Flood of Noah's Ark.

Tabi the Feral Cat didn't hold any power back. Like Sailor Mars, she let her weapon's embers engulf all of her surroundings.

Tabi's first comrade, Mix the Rabbit, took a more physical approach as he walked to and fro with his flamethrower; in this manner the rabbit could cover more ground in more time. His other associate Drop Bear, simply ran around like crazy. This mutant growled and made strange noises whilst waving his flamethrower around like a sword.

From above these three characters, one in a hover chair by the name of Karlos was overseeing their evil deeds. "Mmmm... yes, this is all going according to plan. These mountains will melt. All of its water will flood Lake Burramudgee and its people will have no other choice but to relocate, then they will have no choice but live under my conditions."

In the midst of his wild behavior, Drop Bear came to an unusual but complete stop as he heard someone's yell.

"Hey!" From one of the rocky snowy pillars, Ty narrowed his eyes on Drop Bear.

The mutant got upset and growled, raising his weapon to point it at Ty and the other heroes (Serena, Ami, Rei, Mina, Lita, Shazza, Sly, Ridge, Naomi, Ranger Ken, and Maurie).

"I wouldn't aim that gun up if I were you," Ridge glared at Drop Bear, "But then again, I'm not you."

Tabi and Mix came on the scene as they spotted Bush Rescue from afar.

"Well look what the cat dragged in," Sly acknowledged Tabi's arrival, "And they brought a rabbit and mutant with 'em. Don't you three know it's not good to play with fire?"

"Says who?" Karlos made his grand entrance as he landed right above his minions.

Ty remembered this eye-patched evil inventing genius very well. "Karlos! You and your henchmen oughta' think twice about melting this place. If you do, Lake Burramudgee will be flooded!"

"That's the idea. You should know me better than that by now, Ty. Hm-mm! Hmmm... I don't believe that I ever met those five humans standing around you."

"It's not important who we are," Lita retorted.

"What matters is putting an end to this meltdown," added Rei.

"Hmmm! I think that things will end much differently. Prepare to be eliminated!" Karlos started floating towards Ty but lost control of his chair and was jerked to the right, crashing into one of the snow-capped trees.

Anime sweat drops formed on the Sailor Scouts's faces as they witnessed this. Seriously?

Karlos's minions took the initiative by raising their flamethrowers and sending fire at all the pillars.

Maurie flew out of harm's way while his friends leaped to the ground. "There's flames and plenty of steam everywhere, mates! Be careful!"

Ami could feel the snow soak more through her shoes; she looked down and realized how much it'd been melted.

Ridge and Sly didn't hesitate to start this battle. They flung their Ultrarangs and Kaboomerangs at their opponents, full force.

Naomi and Shazza joined in the fight by using their ray guns, and of course the Sailor Scouts could only stay defensive.

Ty had a different agenda. He spotted Karlos making his departure and heading higher up this mountain. As the villain floated across a frozen lake, Ty ran across it with his furry feet, ignoring the slipperiness. Letting his body get easily swayed and lose track of Karlos would mean not getting answers about Fluffy.

Up ahead lay nine giant ice cubes stacked together. It blocked the path that Karlos passed, so when Ty reached it the hero had no choice. He brought out the Flamerangs, feeling its toasty warmth as he held them up.

...

...

The trail leading towards Karlos only went up more. Ty's feet ran deeper into the snow, so much that it now reached up to his waist. He waved his Rangs around like flags and the snow melted instantly. Ironic.

Karlos reached a wooden staircase leading up to a higher mountain and levitated up it like he had every other obstacle, with Ty dashing after him.

"You're wasting your time."

"I'm not stopping until you tell me about Fluffy!"

"Hmm! So you heard that I found her remains."

"Yeah! Tell me how you did it!" Ty kept carrying his legs.

"I beg your pardon?"

"You know what I'm talking about, Karlos!"

"Mmmm. I _do_ know. But technically, I _didn't_ do anything yet." Karlos hovered towards a wooden slide and started along the structure as it went up like a road. "Fluffy's regeneration hasn't reached its final stage yet. Does that answer your question?"

"Err... I guess so. Well, when Fluffy's back to normal she won't be working for you."

"You are quite the joker." Karlos reached a part in the slide where it ended. He simply flew across the gap, knowing that Ty could jump and make it. So the chase continued.

"I mean it! You don't know Fluffy like I did. Deep down, she had a heart." While Ty was insisting this, he almost got his hair chopped off by one of the spinning blades that'd tried detouring him.

Now Karlos was almost at the end of this slide. "That's nonsense. Our hearts fail us. Any memories she might have of aligning with good can easily be wiped from her memory bank. She won't remember anything except what I tell her."

Ty shook his fists so hard that his face started getting red. When he was about to whack Karlos with the Flamerangs he reached the end of the slide himself.

"Mmmm. It looks like I shall finally make my escape. Until we meet again!" Karlos glanced at his foe for the last time than started flying further up. As for Ty, he jumped down into a barred gate that had a big red button.

Its door raised open and there was Ty already escaping through it.

...

...

The atmosphere suddenly grew so silent. One would hear a pin drop, even through the snow.

Ty looked everywhere for sign of Karlos but only noticed the still falling snowflakes, wintry yellow grass, and occasional brown huts. He clenched his fists tighter and angrily beat the ground, without considering how his Rangs melted more snow. The hero didn't care at this point; he let his hands fall deeper and deeper into the snow until they touched solid ground.

He got back up and looked up at the dreary gray sky. Snowflakes... more snowflakes... Fluffy. _Don't worry, Fluffy! We'll find a way to get you back on our side when you're alive again! I promise!_

* * *

><p>"There!" Ranger Ken escorted Tabi into her jail cell then locked it with a key. "Now that takes care of the feral problem. We just need to capture Julius's uncle."<p>

Inside Currawong Prison, Tabi, Mix, and Drop Bear had each been sent into their own prisons. The heroes glanced at them before leaving, and wondered about Ty.

"Whatever happened to Ty?" Naomi asked worriedly.

"I don't know. I hope he makes it back soon," Shazza replied.

"What if he got lost?" Lita proposed.

"Those mountains are pretty long to hike through," Mina added her say-so.

"I think Ty's okay. He's always on these kinds of adventures. I know because I'm always with 'im."

"So am I," came Ridge's voice.

"Enough gas-bagging. Let's say we go look for our mate," Maurie suggested.

"Everyone!"

"DENNIS?" Everyone uttered this name confusedly as Dennis came running up to them through the prison hallway with such an urgency.

"Why the urgent face? Did someone go into your Thunder Egg safe?" Sly queried.

" Is someone trying to run against you in the next mayoral election?" Ridge couldn't think of anything else.

"No no, nothing like any of that! I heard from our dear friend, Lenny, that Ty has left town! He left to go find Julius's evil uncle!"

All of Dennis's allies gasped.

"Why would he do that?" Serena blue eyes flooded with concern.

"Why are you listening to that cuckoo brain?" Sly interjected, "No one ever knows when he's telling the truth!"

"Yeah," Ridge agreed.

"I know that it sounds highly absurd, and absolutely ridiculous, but the evidence is in Maureen's home! In your room!" Dennis looked directly at Shazza.

Shazza felt everyone's eyes land and stay on her like bees on honey. Just what was Dennis talking about?

"Ty left something in Shazza's room?"

"Yes!" Dennis answered Sly, "Quickly, there's no more time to waste! To Maureen's house!"

* * *

><p>In a random backyard, back in Lake Burramudgee, was Lenny the Lyrebird with a couple of Koala Kids. The feathered mystery had just finished one story and was about to tell another. "So, there I was, eating as much pie as I could before the time ran out and the Currawong pie eating contest was officially over. Yeeeep! I ate over five hundred of those pies, and not a single stomach ache whatsoever! Sounds strange, but it's true... now what happened after that? Oh yeah! Do you kids know where I got this hat from? I found it over by Rainbow Cliffs, next to a tree, yes siree. What are the odds of that?"<p>

"Lenny."

Just when Lenny was about to tell another tale, he heard Sly call his name. The bird looked up and saw a suspicious stare. "Hiya, Sly! What's up? Didja' come to also hear one of my stories?"

"No, I didn't come to hear your ridiculous stories. I heard that you know where Ty went. Were you telling the truth?"

"Of course I was. You don't believe me?"

"Not really. But you're the only suspect."

"Well, you hear what you hear, you know what I mean? Ty left to go rescue some fluffy friend of his. Or was it a friend whose name is Helen? I forget." Soon enough, Lenny had no more to say as Sly snatched him by the neck of his collar like a bully. "H-hey, what's the big idea?"

"You had better not be lying about Ty's whereabouts. Bush Rescue is looking for him right now."

"Really?" Lenny regained his casual tone whilst in Sly's clutches, " Y'know I could take them to him. I know which way he went."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm being honest. Kids, it's been nice hanging out with all of ya', but I gotta help out my friend here. See ya' later, alligators!" After waving goodbye to the Koala Kids, Lenny started walking towards the road with Sly. "Are you ready?"

"Yeah."

* * *

><p>Doom Theater carried quite an unusual silence. Virtuoso's audience wasn't presented with any performances today so there wasn't much chatter.<p>

Even the area where the Lost Chords usually hung out was empty. Only Ei-to sat there in front of his piano, pressing the keys.

His eyes moved to and fro across this keyboard as his mind was flooded with thoughts.

So much happened, in so little of time. The time allotted seemed so outweighed by the days that actually went by, like an unnoticed shooting star or a silent waterfall...

_Have you chosen the next target, and the Melos who will get the job done?_

_I've chosen the Melos, but haven't spun the wheel yet._

_Excellent. Ei-to. I've always had more faith in you than your younger brother and sister. Why, you might ask? You know how to keep a good beat. You are creative and composed. I saw some of the times when you helped your siblings with their missions. They needed you. Do not feel like you're responsible for their demises. Their destinies were played out for them long before I brought them from inside the book.  
><em>

_..._

_..._

_Maestro._

_Yes, Ei-to?_

_You are right. How could I blame myself for their failures? As long as you live, I won't keep doing such a thing._

_Go, Ei-to. Continue with this search for the Silver Essence Aura. The show must go on. It is as I said before. Keep your act up, and soon, maybe, you will become the star of this theater._


	20. Chapter 20

**Fluffy's Revival? The Third Thunder Egg Hunt! PART TWO**

Karlos's secret hideout, just as Ty remembered it. This underground base was still the same with its mechanical doors and yellow and black stripes along the walls, except now Ty entered it for a different reason.

He got on an elevator and was brought down to a lower floor. Ty then started out its door and continued until he came into another clearing and heard Karlos's voice.

"Mmmm, the Thylacine called Ty. I wasn't expecting your return so soon."

"The early Thylacine gets the job done. I'm here to rescue Fluffy."

"I told you before that she's going to work for me."

Ty balled up his fists and raised his Flamerangs. "I told you she's _not_."

"Mmmm, this has become a tricky situation. There's no need to get violent. You and I can't both have Fluffy if there's only one of her. Perhaps if we made a deal?"

"I'm not making anymore deals with you. You double-crossed me when I came to rescue Julius, remember that?" Ty lowered his guards and let his arms fall to his sides.

"Actually, I never tricked you at all. I recall saying that I would _consider_ letting him go. You misunderstood that statement."

"Whatever."

"TY!"

As if by force, Ty turned right to the sound of this voice. "Shaz!" The Tasmanian Tiger was utterly befuddled; for in his fiancee's hands was the note he'd left in her room, and her same flower...

"Possum, why did you come here alone?"

"Er..." Ty started rubbing his head in a nervous manner, "I wanted to do this by myself."

"But we're a team. We always fight the bad guys together."

"Yea..."

"Mmmm, enough of this talk. I'm not handing Fluffy over to you." With this said, Karlos revealed a remote from his pocket, aimed it Ty and Shazza, and with one push of a button they were transported away.

* * *

><p>"... you know there was also the time where I met elephants who lived in caves and did nothing but sing-"<p>

"I'm gonna clobber you if you don't be quiet!" Sly hollered at Lenny as they walked through the Mangrove, "Now are you sure this is the right way?"

"Trust me! Your uncle Lenny knows you want to find Ty." Soon after Lenny said this, a white light appeared and flashed in front of Sly and him, with the mentioned marsupial and Shazza coming from it. "And there they are! I toldja' I'd take you to 'em!"

"Sly!" Ty and Shazza exclaimed in unison.

"Crikey! Sly, am I glad to see _you_!" Ty went on.

"Where were you? Everyone was worried about you," Sly replied with a much less excited tone.

"Yeah, Possum. We were really worried about you," Shazza turned towards Ty with the same concern.

"You got my note then."

"So, you're going to take a break from Bush Rescue to destroy Karlos for good?" Shazza looked her boyfriend in the eyes with a firm concern.

"Yeah..."

"What?" Sly was shocked, "Are you sure you wanna do that? Bush Rescue needs its leader."

"Let's go back to HQ and finish this talk, Possum."

"Okay."

* * *

><p>The remaining heroes had stayed in front of Bush Rescue HQ while Shazza insisted that she would look for Ty in her Fourbie. Sly got upset over his brother's disappearance and stormed off saying he would interrogate Lenny about his whereabouts...<p>

"I do hope that Ty is alright. Bush Rescue can't function without its leader," spoke Dennis.

"I don't understand why he left in the first place," Ridge shared his thoughts.

"Maybe he's still chasing Karlos," guessed Lita.

Bush Rescue HQ's emergency alarm flashed and started going off. Maurie sighed at this. "Well, there's no time to stand around gasbagging. We've got an emergency!"

Shazza's car came falling down onto the grassy pond and the Dingo kept steering like she were in a kart race. "Hold on, everyone! I know a shortcut!" She swerved to and fro while trying not to hit any wild critters, almost causing Sly and Lenny to lose grip on the back of her Fourbie.

"Woah! Watch how you're driving this thing!" Lenny's words came out.

"Hopefully Maurie got our message!" Ty started hearing rushing water. Far up ahead the Tasmanian Tiger spotted the end of a cliff that sloped into a waterfall. "Where's the shortcut?"

"It's here!" Shazza answered.

"Uh-oh! This can't be a shortcut! We're going to die! Die, I tell ya! I won't ever get to meet the Snake King!"

"Cut it out!" Sly fussed at Lenny. The marsupial stayed calm during this whole drive, even as Shazza went off the waterfall and everyone soared like eagles...

"Alright, mates, our mission is to find more of Dennis's Light Thunder Eggs. He says Cass's henchmen have broken into his safe again. No one knows where they went," Maurie summarized Bush Rescue's task.

Unlike Ty, who usually took on these missions and walked on foot, Ridge, Serena, Ami, Rei, Lita, and Mina all got inside the Bush Rescue HQ's van while Naomi drove it and Maurie flew after them. The heroes arrived at Dennis's mansion-like home and parked in front of it. Sly got out the passenger's side and went inside the aristocrat's home to find him quivering beside a large metal safe.

"Ridge! Thank goodness! Boss Cass's meanies returned here last night and stole more of my Thunder Eggs. And I don't know where they went. Could you please go and bring them back, pretty please?"

"No worries, Dennis" Ridge assured the frog.

The Tasmanian Wolf and Dennis parted ways after they exchanged words. Ridge returned to his comrades and relayed the Thunder Egg situation to them so everyone agreed to start their search in the Billabongs.

* * *

><p>Shazza and her party finally arrived at their headquarters in her Fourbie. The car screeched as she made it come to a sudden stop. Sly and Lenny got down from their places on its back while Ty and Shazza looked every which way... not seeing <em>anyone<em>.

"Where'd everyone go?" Shazza asked.

"It's my fault..."

"Don't blame yourself, Possum."

"Yeah, Ty. At least we found you, and we let the others know," Sly agreed with Shazza.

"I never should've left in the first place. I'll never leave you guys behind again."

...

...

"No Light Thunder Eggs here. Those Frill Lizards are long gone," Ridge summed up the looks of this situation.

"What are we going to do? Dennis is expecting us to bring back his eggs," replied Mina.

"Well, that cheapskate... er, I mean Green Tree Frog, won't be getting his beauties back. Unless any of you blokes can think of another location," Maurie said.

"Maybe we should regroup with Ty and Shazza to see what they think we should do," suggested Ami, "They _did_ contact us saying they were on their way back from Karlos's hideout."

"I agree with Ami," Lita stated.

"Sounds good to me," Ridge gave his input.

And so, Maurie followed his allies back to their vehicle with these last words. "This has been one hectic day."

* * *

><p>Frills gathered around a huge mechanical machine inside Cassopolis. One by one these reptiles deposited Light Thunder Eggs inside this machine, and the more that were inserted, the higher its energy increased. A neon-blue bar raised up and showed that this machine had been charged with more power.<p>

An ice block with Boss Cass in the center laid beside the Frills' machine. With one push of a button, red hot beams shot from the machine into this ice to melt it. They were as hot as hot could get, but the machine's power still wasn't at 100 percent.

* * *

><p>"You didn't find any of my Thunder Eggs? Oh no! My precious Light Thunder Eggs are gone!"<p>

"Sorry, Dennis. We checked the same place they were in before, but there wasn't a single egg in sight."

"We haven't give up hope yet," Ami spoke after Serena.

Dennis put his froggy hands together with new-found hope on his face. "You mean, you'll keep looking?"

"Of course," answered Rei.

"Thank goodness! I knew that I could count on Bush Rescue! I _am_ the one who came up this organization."

"Dennis, you won't regret this. We'll make sure to get your Thunder Eggs back, all of them," Ty gave assurance.

"I appreciate your efforts. When I do get my Light Thunder Eggs back, I'm creating a stronger defense system in my home."

"Good idea."

Maurie let out a yawn and stretched his feathery arms. "I think I'm about ready to call it a day. I'm going home to get some shut-eye."

"Alright, Maurie. You should all go to your homes and get rest." Dennis raised one finger into the air, declaring, "You have a big day tomorrow!"

With these words said, everyone started back for their homes. Ty though, was stuck in place as Shazza put her eyes on him. "What is it, Shazza?"

"Is everything alright, Possum?"

"Yeah. Why do you ask?"

"You acted strange earlier. What's really going on?"

Ty got uneasy and started rubbing his shoulder. How could he lie to Shazza? She only wanted the best for him. "Well, er... the truth is... you see, I, uh..."

"It's because of Fluffy, isn't it?" Shazza had a hand to her hip while she stared at Ty with knowing eyes.

"... yeah."

"Don't let it get to you." Shazza went up to her boyfriend and put a hand on his shoulder. "Everything's going to be fine. We'll beat Karlos and find a way to return Fluffy to normal, you'll see."

Cheered up and encouraged, Ty took Shazza's hand from his shoulder and took it into both of his like a delicate flower. "You're right, Shazza. Thanks for cheering me up."

"Anytime, Possum... do you know what day it is?"

"October 11?"

"Righto. You don't remember?" Shazza smiled as she watched Ty scratch his head confusedly. "You proposed to me last October."

"Oh! Right... I'm sorry, Shaz. We've never really gotten around to planning the wedding."

"Boss Cass and the Quinkan kept us busy."

"Well, I'm gonna make it up to you now. Let's get married as soon as possible."

"Crikey! Are you sure, Possum?"

"Yeah, no more lollygagging."

Shazza felt a wave of excitement wash over her like water would've came down Snowy Mountains in Karlos reigned victorious. Her hands moved to her mouth as she felt like she'd heard the hugest secret in all of Southern Rivers. Was Ty serious about them getting married right now? "I can't believe this is finally going to happen!" Shazza put her arms around Ty and embraced him, feeling him return the gesture.

Ei-to spun the Doom Wheel and watched it rotate like he had so many times before. Memories of life with his siblings reeled through his mind as this device moved. Virtuoso had always had the most faith and respect for Ei-to, yet this Lost Chord wasn't the first one to be assigned a mission. That caught Ei-to's attention.

Maybe it didn't matter...

...

...

The Doom Wheel finally slowed down and the face that lined up with the arrow was Shazza's.


	21. Chapter 21

**Bush Rescue's Big Day! Toranpetto the Jazz King! PART ONE**

Because of what he already owned, and thanks to Bush Rescue's first two Thunder Egg Hunts, Julius had a free Electric Thunder Egg, a Fire Thunder Egg, the Ice Thunder Egg, and even his very own Light Thunder Egg. The koala was sure that Dennis wouldn't notice if one of his prized possessions out of hundreds were missing, so Julius kept this last, special one to perform an experiment.

This inventor set all four Thunder Eggs inside his machine called the Thunder Egg Electricity Generator. By noticing and studying how much electricity each volcanic beauty generated, Julius would be able to determine if the Light Thunder Egg is the strongest, or vice versa.

"By placing each of these Thunder Eggs inside this Thunder Egg Electricity Generator, I will figure out which one carries the strongest charge. Here it goes!" Julius pressed a red button and his machine started making revving noises. It moved about a bit before the generation process finally took place.

Next to this generator on the wall was a digital screen labeled with each of the Thunder Eggs's power levels. The Light Thunder Egg's already showed a higher bar than any of the others. Julius was convinced...

The generator mechanical noises faded and slowed down. It calculated the final results, and through a cable link transferred this data to the screen. It looked something like this:

Thunder Egg Electricity Levels

Light Thunder Egg: 98 %

Fire Thunder Egg: 70%

Ice Thunder Egg: 73%

Electric Thunder Egg: 77%

"According to these calculations, the Light Thunder Egg carries more energy than all of the others. Which also means Serena does. Hmmm..."

"Julius?"

"Oh goodness gracious me!" Julius turned around and saw Serena with her unforgettable odango hairstyle. "I didn't see you there. I was just thinking about you."

"Really?" Serena grew curious and worried all at once.

"Yes. I just finished running this test to calculate each Thunder Egg's electricity level before you arrived."

"Yeah? That's cool, Julius. Why did you need to find all of that out?"

"Do you recall the day that you touched a Light Thunder Egg and it shocked you? Well, I think I might have an explanation. You carry more electricity than Thunder Eggs. Why is this so?" Julius placed a hand to his chin, looking so intelligent. "It's quite interesting, actually. The Light Thunder Egg interfered with the internal electricity in your nervous system and served as a capacitor. Your charge reacted to its electromagnetic radiation because it hadn't been used."

"Wait... could you repeat all of that in easier terms?"

"You possess more energy than Thunder Eggs. These magical geodes are one of the strongest items in all of Southern Rivers. Do you have superhuman abilities? Elemental powers?"

"Uh..." Serena grew uneasy. Through science, this koala was nearing towards her secrets. People shouldn't have been able to do that! "Even if that were true, what could it prove?"

"A reasonable question! It would mean that one day, possibly, you could be recruited onto Bush Rescue and help them keep Southern Rivers safe, and that, my dear, is a wonderful opportunity."

_Yeah, sure. The only opportunity I'd like is to finally have a real vacation, at Pippy Beach, under an umbrella with Darien..._

"Ahem!" Julius responded since he was so rudely interrupted.

"Oh! Sorry, Julius. I was daydreaming."

"I see that. If you're ever interested in joining the Bush Rescue Training Program, talk to Sneath or Keith. I'm sure that you'll meet the qualifications."

"Okay," Serena replied nervously, "Well, the others are at Bush Rescue Headquarters. They asked me to come and get you so we can start our Thunder Egg Hunt."

"Oh? Excellent! Alright, I'll be ready to accompany you, just after I record these calculations..."

* * *

><p>Later in the afternoon, in front of Bush Rescue HQ, Dennis was to give all of his comrades an announcement. "I am honored to see Bush Rescue off to their next Thunder Egg Hunt," Dennis began with a proud hand to his chest, "Those Frill Lizards will be sorry for going into my Thunder Egg collection, twice. Good luck, everyone, and be careful!"<p>

Dennis watched his friends split up in go in different directions with the same intent. Since the Sailor Scouts were still getting accustomed to Southern Rivers, they each were paired up with a Bush Rescuer, except Ty who left with Shazza and Julius to explore Cassopolis. The groups consisted of Serena and Ken, Lita and Ridge, Rei and Maurie, Ami and Naomi, and Mina and Sly.

Mina had been assigned to go with Sly to the Mangrove. And she wasn't pleased. "Ugh! This place smells horrible."

"You could say that again," Sly also plugged his nose with his fingers, "But Frill could be here with those Light Thunder Eggs. Try not to let the smell get to you while we look for them."

"I'll try..." Mina kept her hand to her nose as she followed Sly deeper into this dark muddy area. Would Cass's minions really want to come _here_?

Sly constantly shifted his eyes left and right as he walked. The Tasmanian Tiger became concentrated on his surroundings while Mina found herself simply tagging along.

_This place smells terrible! I don't think there's any Frill Lizards here. _Mina suddenly gasped as a group of Frill Lizards came into her view.

"Aha!" Sly smirked at bit and raised his Kaboomerangs. Things just grew interesting.

The battle ended in no time flat as explosions were created everywhere and each Frill Lizard got beaten. As the explosions's smoke vanished, hints of Light Thunder Egg shine could be seen through it, and finally three Light Thunder Eggs became totally visible.

"I figured someone would be here. Let's keep going and see if we find more," Sly took the three Thunder Eggs into his possession.

"The sooner, the better. One of the famous poets said something like, 'If we don't have time, we have nothing else'."

"I've never heard that one before."

"Oh. Yes, well it's true."

"They sent us back _here_?" Serena thought out loud as she and Ken flew through Snowy Mountains in Duke's helicopter.

"Yeah! Those Frills could be anywhere!" Ken shouted back through their vehicle's noises.

"Mam', I am ready to drop you and Ranger Ken off whenever you're ready!" Duke explained to Serena.

"Oh! Alright!"

"Ready, Duke!" Ken made a thumbs up.

"Here we go!" Duke maneuvered his helicopter so that they landed near one of the many snow-dusted trees and a frozen lake. Lo and behold, there stood Frill Lizards.

"There they are. Let's take care of them."

Serena nodded to Ken's remark, and together this teenager and ranger rushed at the bad guys. Fighting these Frill Lizards started reminding Serena of the Sailor V video game she always used to play. She performed a Sailor V Kick one of her scaled enemies, not even realizing it.

After Ken grabbed two Frill Lizards and knocked their heads together, four of them were defeated and dropped six Light Thunder Eggs. The last two Frill Lizards tried making a run for it.

"Oh no you don't!" Ken started after this pair with his large-built body. He followed these two across the frozen lake, but came to a stop as he heard Serena yelp.

"Ahh!"

"Are you alright, mate?" Ken hurried back over to a teary-eyed Serena and started helping her up to her feet. "You gotta be careful running across this ice."

Both friends were now both on their feet, but the Frill Lizards were nowhere to be found.

Serena felt a wave of defeat wash over her and the girl fell back down to her knees. "Rei was right! I am so clumsy. The Frills got away because of _me_."

"Don't beat yourself up, mate. If it wasn't for you, I'd have a hard time getting these Light Thunder Eggs by myself."

"You know what? You're right, Ranger Ken. Thanks."

"No problem," Ken gave a thumbs up.

Maurie went with Rei to the Rainforest, remembering just about every twisting path is possibly had. Since it hadn't been that long when all of the heroes were here, Rei walked across the paths with a knowing seriousness.

"Rei, mate, now let's not be in too quick of a hurry. Cass's henchmen could be anywhere."

"I don't sense any nearby." Rei kept moving forward with that focused look, and so her companion simply kept flying beside her.

"Is that your ESP talking?" Maurie never got his response.

The duo came up to a twisting lake. From out of nowhere came a couple of Frill Lizards who continued past Rei and got on this lake like it were a slide.

"Hey!" Rei started towards her enemies as if she'd skated along the river so many times before. How hard could it be? Ty did it so many times. Because Rei had noticed it though, the priestess grabbed a nearby boulder and planned on using it like a snowboard; she wasn't about to let her sneakers get wet!

"That trail will take you all the way down to other side of this rain forest. You can gain more speed by crouching down as you move along." Maurie continued flying after Rei as he gave the girl this advice. He realized how graceful and balanced Rei was as she slid down the river on that rock. So was Serena the only clumsy one in the group?

Rei kept her sights on the Frill Lizards as she and they continued down the winding river. The end of it at the bottom was just a few more minutes away. Rei took Maurie's advice and crouched down. She was accelerating faster and soon her foes should've wished that they didn't ease past her.

"Uhh!" All of Cass's baddies were knocked off the water and landed on different spots on the grass.

When Rei reached the bottom she held seven Light Thunder Eggs. "Seven! Wow, those Frills sure left a lot for me to carry."

"Let me help you with that." Maurie descended next to Rei and took three of their eggs into his feathery hands. "Dennis sure did find a lot of these things."

"No kidding. Let's keep moving."

"Right behind ya', Rei, mate."

On the Beach, Ridge and Lita traveled across its vast seashore like treasure hunters with straight-forward intentions. They knew that Frill Lizards were here, and it was only a matter of exactly where that needed to be found out. Rex and Elle were known to live or always come to this region, so if needed these platypuses would be called on.

"Let's check here," Lita proposed as they approached a tropical resort.

"I suppose the locals could help us," Ridge replied, "I reckon that this is where Rex and Elle stay."

"Yeah?"

"At least that's what I heard."

Ridge and Lita stepped foot into this resort and noticed Rex laying on a beach chair.

The swimmer raised his head upon noticing his friends and got up. "G'day! Did you two come here to go for a swim?"

"No, we're looking for Light Thunder Eggs," Lita answered.

"You've seen any around here?" Ridge queried Rex.

"There was one over by some coconut trees, in that direction," Rex pointed westward, "You would have to get past the quicksand if you wanted it. Have either of you seen Elle?"

"No. She didn't come here with you?" Lita grew worried.

"She did, but she said she wanted to go look for seashells. We were supposed to meet back here, and I've been waiting ever since. If you happen to see her, could you give me a yell?"

"Sure, Rex. We'll keep our eyes peeled."

"Thanks, mate."

So, Lita and Ridge went in the given direction and found the dark-brown quicksand. Along the way they'd ran into some Frill Lizards and took care of them. Beyond the quicksand on top of a wooden platform lay a Light Thunder Egg.

From them to the other side wasn't as far as Lita expected. She watched Ridge throw one of his Rangs at the coconuts and make it fall into the quicksand.

"Hurry up." The Tasmanian Wolf hopped onto the first coconut, then knocked another one down and repeated his actions.

Lita did as she was told and hurried after him. "Woah!"

Ridge heard the brunette and turned his head to see how she'd almost slipped off. "Be careful. We don't have any time to get stuck." Ridge finally reached the first platform and climbed up it by use of his Ultrarangs. He helped Lita up by taking her hand, then the pair leaped across the other platforms and landed on the farthest one with their prize. "One Light Thunder Egg so far."

"Look over there!"

"Hm?" Ridge shifted his eyes to where his comrade pointed, and near some rocky pillars he could see more Frill Lizards swimming in the surrounding water. "Looks like we'll be going for a swim after all. Ironic. Haha."

With no hesitation, Ridge and Lita jumped through some coconut tree leaves and dove into the ocean. Pillars of water shot up as the heroes came up for air and started swimming towards the Frill Lizards. Each reptile turned their head and started swimming towards them offensively, and even in something like water, Lita and Ridge put up fights; Ridge whacked Frill Lizards with his Ultrarangs while Lita swung her fists.

Four Light Thunder Eggs appeared after the fight was over, floating in the water like pirate's treasure. Ridge grabbed each one, and together with Lita continued along his adventurous way.

Naomi drove through the Desert as if she'd done so for years. Up ahead was a tunnel and the Dingo went inside of it, turning on her low headlight for better vision. Ami of course sat in her passengers seat and these girls were still searching for Light Thunder Eggs or Frill Lizards.

Minutes later, when they exited the cave, Ami looked to her right and happened to see a bridge that led to quite an interesting cliff. What was over there?

Naomi spotted this curiosity out of the corner of her eye. "You see any Frills?"

"No. I was looking at that cliff over there."

"Oh. That's where someone could open the portal to go into the Dreaming, but Ty and my sister gave the Bunyips the keys."

"The Dreaming? What's that place?"

"No one knows much about it, but the Bunyip Elder and his servants live there. Ty went there once to do some training before the Quinkan Invasion, and that was it."

"Interesting." Ami kept staring at this portal entrance as it was still in view. Eventually Naomi drove farther away from it and Ami put her eyes back on the road in front of them. _The Dreaming. It sounds like such a mysterious place. I wonder if the Sailor Scouts will ever have to go there..._

"Ahh!"

"Huh?" Ami was distracted from her thoughts as she heard Naomi's gasp and their vehicle made an ugly left turn. Apparently, Naomi tried avoiding something and almost didn't notice it, so the driver was badly thrown off course. When the Dingo put her van in park, Ami asked half-panicking, "Is everything alright, Naomi?"

"Stuffed, I'll be! Lenny was on the road and I didn't notice him! The bloke almost got ran over!"

"_Lenny_? Was he following us?" Ami unbuckled her seat belt and got out the car to investigate. With Naomi alongside her, the pair approached Lenny who didn't seem phased by the near-car accident at all.

"Hey, folks! Didn't you see me on the road? I would've been a goner for sure if you didn't stop in time."

"Righto, but why were you on this road in the first place?" Naomi retorted with a hand on her hip, "You should be more careful next time."

"So, you're the bird who everyone's told me about," stated Ami.

"Yep, I'm Lenny! Nice to meet ya'! What's your name?"

"My name is Ami Mizuno. I'm here on vacation with my four best friends."

"Oh, how nice! It might interest you to know that I'm also not originally from here. I was born on a planet just right of the Moon and have a pen pal there. We write to each other a lot, and sometimes we even video chat... hey, you wanna know why I came out here? I just heard from one of the village's folks that something gold and shiny was under a waterfall. I wanna find it and see if I can send it to my pen pal from Mars."

"Could that object be a Light Thunder Egg?" Ami wondered.

"Let me take you girls to this waterfall," Lenny suggested, "Follow me along this road and you'll be there before you know it. Trust me."

While this Lyrebird waited for Ami and Naomi to get back inside their van, they decided between each other whether or not to follow him. They were on an important mission and the last thing anyone needed was to be misled, especially by the king of liars.

"Something's telling me that we should trust Lenny this time. He's given us a place and otherwise we would be here driving aimlessly, without a clue," Ami said as she and Naomi buckled their seat-belts in.

"Right as rain. We'll give Lenny a chance." Naomi started the ignition and then from there she was driving after Lenny.

After Ty and others passed through another door, they were officially in Cassopolis. Memories flooded Ty's mind...

"What is it, Possum?" Shazza responded as she felt Ty protectively grab her hand.

"Stay near me, no matter what. This place is overran with Frills, and I bet they're expecting us," Ty constantly looked left and right with sharp eyes.

"Well this _is_ Boss Cass's city-state, Ty," spoke Julius, "The Frill Lizards share his racist ideology towards us warm-bloods. I wonder who runs it if he's still stuck on his island resort."

"Why do I see other people here?" Shazza took notice of Bruce, Tiberius, and Mascot Mark.

"Er... good question." Ty glanced at Tiberius. "Gramps could stay with my rellies if he wanted to."

"Perhaps he and those other two came here because this city has more resources than Lake Burramudgee. Boss Cass intended for it to bring him diplomatic immunity, but it's still more advanced in its technology."

"That's true," Shazza said as the auto-mechanic she was, looking around at all that Cass's city had to offer. The idea of everything working together for good really stood true. "Where could those Frills be hiding those Light Thunder Eggs?"

"I think I know where they could be. Over here." Ty led Shazza and Julius to an area in Cassopolis where he remembered a long hallway being. In its room had been golden statues of Boss Cass and windows that overlooked the ocean; now a door with a numerical pad stood in front of it. "Wait a second... this door wasn't here before."

"Someone must've installed it here just recently," said Shazza, "We need to find out what the password is."

"Leave that to me, my friends. These kinds of things are quite tricky..." Julius reached into his apron pocket and brought out a special tool; the koala took apart the numerical pad, carefully detached its blue wires, then set the whole device back in place so well that it looked untouched. "Viola! I've detached this keypad's blue wire, thus deactivating its password configuration."

"Huh?" Ty replied.

"This door will always be unlocked."

"Oh. Ripper!"

"Let's hurry before anyone finds out," declared Shazza. Together, she, Julius, and Ty continued forward into Boss Cass's old lair.


	22. Chapter 22

**Bush Rescue's Big Day! Toranpetto the Jazz King! PART TWO**

The trio approached a machine that sat in Boss Cass's room, and to their surprises they discovered the Cassowary in a large block of ice.

"Cass!" Ty's eyes widened.

"He's still trapped in that ice!" said Shazza.

"This machine must have been built to free him. It's readings say that its light energy is currently at 89.97 percent. A large portion of Dennis's Light Thunder Eggs have been stolen... do you both see what I'm getting at here?"

"The Light Thunder Eggs are powering this machine?"

"Crikey!" Ty exclaimed, "That's why the Frills were so desperate. Let's destroy this thing."

Before anyone got their weapons, Frill Lizards appeared. The heroes took care of these enemies with no problems, but more showed up soon afterwards.

One of Ty's Goldenrangs came back to him and he threw his other one at a Frill Lizard who assaulted him.

Red lights started flashing in the room and an alarm went off, its noise blaring throughout all of Cassopolis. Different citizens panicked as they had no idea what was going on.

"Huh? Did someone forget to turn off their stove?" Tiberius spoke.

"Oh no! There's an emergency! I wish I could unzip myself out of this suit and escape!" Mascot Mark whined.

Bruce looked around as others were leaving their homes and meeting for their emergency drill, but the Green Tree Frog still didn't figure it out. Something pretty bad must've happened...

"Ty! Let's get out of here!" Shazza yelled.

"No worries!" Ty promptly followed Shazza and Julius out of Boss Cass's old lair and Cassopolis with alarm still ringing through their ears...

Later, this team retreated to Parrotbeard Cove and landed near some of its jagged rocks. They hopped out of their Sub Bunyip and breathed with relief.

"That was a close one."

Ty responded to Shazza. "We could've destroyed that machine if those Frills hadn't shown up..."

"I would say we still made some progress. At least we know where they're keeping that machine," Julius looked at the brighter side of this situation.

"Yeah. Next time I'll be ready." Ty cast his determined gaze on the ocean and stared at Cassopolis's tiny form. His friends were right.

* * *

><p>"Good news, Dennis! We know where Boss Cass's Frills took your Thunder Eggs," Maurie began as everyone was back in Bush Rescue HQ.<p>

"You do? Where?"

"You know the Billabongs?"

"Yes," Dennis wore a face that said, "No duh!"

"We didn't find any there."

"Then were are they?"

"Most of 'em are in Cassopolis inside of some machine the Frills are using to unfreeze Boss Cass," Ty answered.

"Aah! Oh no! We cannot let them do that! Ty, you must get my Light Thunder Eggs out of that machine."

"No worries, Dennis."

"We've already came up with a plan," Shazza explained.

"You have? Tell me."

"We're going to get some help from Mark," Rei elaborated.

"You mean the marsupial that's stuck in that crocodile costume? What help could _he_ be?"

"He's a member of the Frills Association Club. They'd never suspect him." Serena insisted.

Shazza added, "Serena's right. It's the perfect plan."

"Well, if all of you agree to that, then I guess I have no choice but to also give it a chance."

"You'll be glad you did, Dennis," Ty assured the mayor.

* * *

><p>Later in the day, cricket chirps could be heard. Nightfall came and so pretty much everyone was in their homes eating dinner or sound asleep.<p>

As Shazza had been walking to hers, Ty protectively paced alongside her.

"Shaz, we had a big adventure today."

"You're right, Possum. You're so tough and manly."

"Awww, you're pretty manly too... I mean girly... uh... I mean... you're cute." Ty had the most hopeless look on his face but it disappeared as Shazza changed her frown into a smile.

"C'mon Possum..." she walked with Ty up her mom's porch steps and in front of the door pecked his cheek. "Let's meet at the water fountain tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay." Ty waved good-bye to his girlfriend then started back down the steps while she went in her house. Suddenly, suspicious and villainous laughter came to his ears. After looking everywhere for this, Ty looked up at Maureen's roof and found Ei-to there with a hand on his hip. "Shivers! Who are you?"

"You don't see any resemblances between me and your last two enemies? I am Ei-to, the third and last Lost Chord of the Doom Theater."

"Not again!" Ty reached for his Goldenrangs and these weapons glowed in the night like stars.

"This saga between our sides has just begun. Allow me to bring forth a special friend of mine. Come forth, Toranpetto! Long live the Jazz King!" Ei-to stepped aside, and from the ground manifested a portal that a Melos emerged from. They wore a long red coat, gloves, and black shades that only a villain would wear. In their possession was the trumpet that helped him reach his kingship.

"Toranpetto, your Highness. This Thylacine and his friends intend to ruin our theater. If it pleases you, take the stage."

Toranpetto had a twisted smile and bowed respectfully; he stepped away from Ei-to and faced Ty. The fact that this Melos was so silent made Ty feel intimidated. What was his deal?

Toranpetto started playing blue jazz from his trumpet and from it came a music sheet.

Ty remembered this tactic and threw his Rangs at the musical notes, however they had no effect; the Rangs bounced off the objects like rubber. Ty had no time to run and so the music sheet wrapped around him like a boa constrictor. He groaned and wiggled around persistently to escape, but it's grip was super strong.

"It's no use. You've stopped our Meloses multiple times before, but now things will end differently." Ei-to turned to Toranpetto with that same calm yet villainous smile. "Your Highness. Allow me..."

In the midst of his struggling, Ty looked up and could see Ei-to holding a baton. He waved it just once and Ty was feeling his Essence Aura leave.

Losing his whole self felt like he couldn't breathe. Ty started coughing, even choking as he tried inhaling oxygen. The hero's body started giving out and lethargy wasn't that much farther away.

...

...

Ei-to examined Ty's white aura as Toranpetto's jazz melody still sounded through his ears. No matter how hard Ei-to stared at it, it wasn't the one he was looking for.

"Ty!"

Toranpetto paused his music, and Ei-to turned around to find what the cause of this had been. "There's nothing to despair over, Dingo," Ei-to softened his tone, "He doesn't have what my Maestro's looking for. You were originally our main target, but I suppose this Thylacine wanted to take your place."

Shazza frowned with such an angry glare. Her finger went to her gun trigger so fast and the blasts came forth. Her target swayed to and fro, avoiding every shot.

He raised his baton and repeated the sequence from before... and yet another Essence Aura appeared. "Hm. It looks like this wasn't the right one either. Oh well. Your Majesty, neither of these is the Silver Essence Aura. We wasted our time, and we used it well."

"Stop where you are!" In all her heroic beauty, Cosmos appeared on Maureen's roof. Seemingly, she first appeared to be a black silhouette, but then her features were revealed and Ei-to recognized the warrior much better.

Toranpetto looked up at this Sailor Scout and grew awfully curious as his head never turned. His sunglasses shined in the moonlight as he didn't move.

"Ruining a couple's night is cruel in my book! I will make you pay for harming them! I am Sailor Cosmos, the Champion of Love and Justice! In the name of the Moon, I will punish you!"

"That's quite a nice speech, Miss Cosmos. You and your friends have beaten the Lost Chords before me, but I won't go down like they did. Toranpetto, I trust that you'll give a good performance. Whenever you're ready." Ei-to slipped his baton into his pocket then disappeared.

Cosmos looked back to Toranpetto and jumped down from Maureen's roof. When her feet touched the ground, the fight really started.

"You guys. Is it really a good idea for Cosmos fight alone? We've always been by her side," asked Mars as she, Mercury, Jupiter, and Venus watched this all from behind another house.

"I know this isn't what we usually do, but we can't risk having Bush Rescue notice the Sailor Scouts again. Cosmos is able to fly away if it were to happen," Mercury explained situation.

"I understand what you mean, Mercury. But if things get out of hand, we'll step in," Jupiter made this statement clear.

"Right." Venus agreed with the green soldier. Ever since the formation of the Sailor Scouts, Cosmos's guardians always defended her. Now the fight would be different because she was facing it alone.

With no more time to lose, Cosmos brought out the Cosmos Compass. "COSMOS... LOVELY... PERCEPTION!"

Each light from Cosmos's weapon reflected in Toranpetto's glasses. The Jazz King raised his trumpet and blew into its mouthpiece to make another tune. Fancy red notes came from its bell and collided with Cosmos's silver blasts.

"Aaaaaahhhh...!" Like a pretty deer in headlights, Cosmos watched her attack be redirected at her. It came with Toranpetto's added power and sent her back so far. She landed on the sidewalk near Shazza's Fourbie and entered unconsciousness. Her comrades gasped fearfully.

"Jupiter!" Venus reached for the brunette's shoulders as she rose from the bushes.

"Let me go!"

"Jupiter. We agreed that we would stay hidden," came Mercury's voice.

"But Sailor Moon's hurt! She needs us now!" Jupiter kept struggling to break free.

"She's been through worse."

After these words, Jupiter and Venus both seemed to calm down. One let go of the other and they both sighed.

"We have to have faith in her." Mercury was right. There'd been fights where Cosmos was near her death, and yet she still managed to survive.

"Yeah. Just because things look bad doesn't mean it's over," Venus added.

"I know how you feel, Jupiter." Mars set her hand on her ally's shoulder, "Sailor Moon is one of the closest people to me. Without her, I wouldn't be here right now. She'll see to it that the Doom Theater is stopped." Mars was more sure of this than anything else in her entire life; Jupiter could agree with it. They needed to believe in their leader; without faith, beating this Melos and saving Ty and Shazza would be impossible.

Cosmos found her balance and groaned as she got up. She looked like a tattered porcelain doll with cuts and scratches all over. The night brought a cool breeze and beautifully swayed Cosmos's hair to the side. For some time, she just stared Toranpetto down, then finally reached for her tiara. It flew at Toranpetto like a shining golden disc. He sidestepped with no trouble at all then blew a loud note from his trumpet.

What happened next could only be described as magic. From colorful music sheets that appeared out of nowhere came an army. Dozens of soldiers dressed in uniforms carried long trombones like guns and dominated Maureen's front yard.

The Sailor Scouts were astonished at their group size. They hadn't expected their leader to deal with something like this. Mercury revealed her Mercury Visor and with it counted every single one.

...

...

"That army has 100 soldiers! There's no way Sailor Moon can fight that many by herself."

"Enough staying down!" Jupiter stood up; Mars appeared after her, then Venus and Mercury followed suit.

Cosmos turned to the sound of rustling leaves and saw her team mates approaching her like loyal guardians they were. "Everyone... I'm sorry for what I'm always putting you through. Where would I be without you?"

"JUPITER... OAK... EVOLUTION!"

""MARS... FLAME... SNIPER!"

"VENUS... LOVE AND BEAUTY... SHOCK!"

"MERCURY... AQUA... RHAPSODY!" Mercury's attack combined with her allies' moves wiped out the first five or six rows of Toranpetto's soldiers. The remaining men raised their trumpets and shot musical notes from them like rifles. The Sailor Scouts dodged these shots constantly.

"These soldiers don't seem to have weaknesses! Toranpetto is the source of their power!"

"Figured as much! How do we get him?" Venus asked Mercury while evading notes.

"I'll try!" Mars performed Mars Flame Sniper and sent a blazing arrow at Toranpetto, striking him right between the eyes. His shades shattered like little black diamonds and fell to the ground. What was left was a pair of pastel green eyes. One look at them and a person would fee highlylsuspicious of Toranpetto.

Toranpetto played his trumpet and ushered his men to charge at their enemies.

Each Sailor Scout backed away in fear as these dozens of soldiers were closing in on them. The Sailor Scouts stood with their backs against each other, so that from the sky, one would think they were seeing a ring and dot in the center, but it something totally different.

The Ultrarang came from out of nowhere and whacked one of the soldiers. Its other pair also came that hit another enemy. Cosmos turned her head, and as she thought, it was Ridge. "Ridge!"

These Rangs went back to their owner who stood with that same usual seriousness. "I reckon you five need help. I'll take it from here."

Like so, Ridge threw his Rangs at the soldiers, starting the beginning of a one-on-ninety-eight battle. The Sailor Scouts watched this Tasmanian Wolf demolish their enemies like nothing. Some who tried rushing head on at him were kicked. How was he doing this?

"This is the best you soldiers can do. Haha. I'm disappointed."

"Ridge is so powerful!" began Venus.

"He's taking down these soldiers like nothing," added Cosmos.

"He's showing off. We could beat these guys if we just tried."

"Jupiter, why do you sound irritated?" Mercury asked.

Immediately, Jupiter lost her serious face and became sheepish. "Uh, it's nothing. If I sounded irritated, sorry."

"We're not mad with you. We were just concerned," Mercury grew worried.

"I can't just stand around and watch! We'll fight too! MARS... CELESTIAL FIRE... SURROUND!" Mars's rings of fire flew at Toranpetto's men like Ridge's Rangs. One by one, each soldier was burnt to crisps.

Jupiter felt motivated and raised her own hands. "SUPREME... THUNDER... DRAGON!" Lightning bolts in the shape of a fearsome and awesome dragon emerged. Like a carnivore, it rushed at the soldiers and devoured them with its electric fangs, electrocuting them.

Ridge looked over his shoulder as he'd saw this and eyed Jupiter with that emotionless look. She was quite powerful.

By now, there were about fifty members of Toranpetto's army left. Ridge and the Sailor Scouts kept decreasing their numbers by simply doing what they did to win every battle. Giving it their all.

When Toranpetto could only see three of his men left, Ridge finished them off.

Cosmos raised her weapon and prepared to end this fight for good. "COSMOS... LOVELY... PERCEPTION!"

This attack went at Torapentto like a song in total opposition to his. He sidestepped then raised his trumpet and blew into it again. This time, black notes were unleashed and they went straight for the Cosmos Compass.

"Ah!"

Ridge watched Toranpetto let his instrument fall back by his side, then he took off his hat and bowed like at the end of a performance. A portal appeared behind the Melos and he went into it...

...

...

Ty's eyes came open and he could see the starry blue night sky. Towering right above him though was the girl who'd been awaiting his awakening. "Shaz!" Ty got up and faced this Dingo.

"Ty! I'm so glad you're okay." Shazza reached forward and embraced her boyfriend as if she were about to lose him.

He returned the gesture and this couple felt a closeness that they hadn't felt in years. They eventually let go of each other and exchanged farewells and good nights again.

From Maureen's second story window, Serena watched them with a saddened expression.

Broken remains of the Cosmos Compass laid on the night-stand next to her.


End file.
